Eva's Homecoming
by Xascul
Summary: After half a millennium, Evangeline McDowell, the infamous super vampire mage, is finally going back home. What will she encounter here?
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone! Here is another Eva fanfic for you guys! I've wanted to try this story idea out as this type of fanfic hasn't been written yet I don't think.

Disclaimer: I do not own Negima nor any of its characters. (this is getting really repetitive to type)

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Eva's Homecoming

Chapter 1 The Train Ride and a Flashback

In the United Kingdom, a classic steam engine chugged through the hills spewing clouds of white smoke from its smoke stack. A whistle blew as the train zoomed through a crossing heading toward the largest city in Scotland, Glasgow.

Aboard the train were a group of six people, five girls, and one boy. Negi Springfield and a few of his students were traveling by train to visit Eva's old castle. Setsuna and Asuna were the only ones the little vampire told her past to. She comically tossed Negi out the door, even in her injured state because she was too embarrassed to have him standing by and listening to her.

Asuna, Konoka, Setsuna, Anya, Nekane and Negi were all sitting in the same compartment aboard the train. Negi had invited a few of his students to come to Glasgow with him, and since he was visiting the UK again, Anya and his sister just had to come as well.

"Man, I can't wait to see Glasgow and the countryside!" Negi cried. He hadn't traveled much around the British isles when he was a kid so taking the train to Scotland was actually a first for him. The nice thing about Great Britain was that it was small and one could ride the trains in up and down in less than four hours.

While the rest of the group were conversing lively with each other, a young girl rested her head on one hand and was looking with a bored expression out the window.

"Meh. Been there, seen it." Eva grumbled.

"C'mon Eva why so gloomy?" Asuna asked the smaller girl.

Eva grumbled about something and turned her back toward the window.

Along the train ride, Negi thought again about his Master and how she became a vampire. He had theorized that Eva had turned herself into a vampire because she, like him, desired power. As if being a vampire wasn't enough, she also wanted to learn magic. He thought it was only natural, since he started learning magic when he was about five years old himself. Negi wondered what the circumstances were. Did a demon or a dark mage offer her a contract? Did she sacrifice her humanity for power at such a young age?

As the train chugged on through the countryside nearing its destination, Eva thought back to just a few days ago and why she was dragged along on the trip.

* * *

Mahora Academy

Eva looked up from where she was sitting outside Starbooks and saw something that she would only begin to see in her dreams. She saw Negi, along with a few of his other students, walking towards her. In the middle of the group, being tugged by Negi was none other than Nagi, the Thousand Master. Eva wasn't sure how to react. She was angry at Nagi for trapping her in this state. She despised him that he 'beat' her in a duel with a cheap pitfall trick. She hated him for keeping her at this stupid school and not coming back to free her even though he _promised_ to do so. On the other hand, she was happy to see him after all this time. She was grateful that he really was still alive and that she could finally be freed. She was conflicted about whether or not she still loved him and whether or not he had or did ever feel the same way.

"There you are Evangeline! We've been looking for you!" Asuna cried.

"We were wondering where you were, we looked in all your usual spots like your cabin, the World Tree, the rooftop of the school, and finally we met up with Satsuki and she told me we could find you here today!" Negi said.

"Anyways we brought you someone I think you have been waiting to meet for a long time."

"N-Nagi?" the little vampire asked.

"Yeah, it's me Evangeline, how have you been?"

"Oh, perfectly fine, being trapped here for almost sixteen years repeating year after year........of course I've been fine!" Eva said with a significant harsher tone and gave him her famous death glare.

The other students, including Negi, were never going to get used to that glare and backed away from the vampiress. Even Sayo, who was floating behind Kazumi, was scared, and she was a ghost. She knew that if looks could kill, the number of people that Eva had killed in her lifetime would almost surely triple.

Nagi wasn't fazed and leaned forward to pet her on the head. Eva's softened significantly but still hinted at anger. "Have you tried living in the light, just like I asked?"

"I.....I....I think I tried......." Eva replied, this time with a much softer tone. Eva wasn't lying this time. Throughout her first years in the school, she tried to behave like a 'normal' schoolgirl. She did all her assignments, studied real hard and helped out with several clubs. However, as to what constituted 'living in the light' was a mystery to Eva. In her free time, she liked exploring Library Island and the school library for any new spellbooks or anything that could help boost her power. She also spent many nights on patrol duty as a security guard out of boredom but it still gave her the feeling of a night life that she enjoyed.

"Professor Takahata has told be all about it. He says you've been for the most part, a good girl during your years here."

Asuna pulled Negi aside and whispered something in his ear. He nodded and motioned to his students to head back to school. Asuna and Negi both agreed that this should be private time for Eva and Nagi and a time for them to catch up and clear up any misunderstandings and other matters.

After the everyone left, Nagi decided to take a seat next to Eva. For several minutes the two did not say a word to each other. Eva wanted to ask Nagi so many things. But first things first. "Are you just going to sit there, or are you going to undo this stupid curse?!"

"And you won't even let me have a cup of tea. You really can be a spoiled brat sometime." Nagi teased Evangeline. "Nonetheless I think you have waited long enough."

Nagi stood up, reached into his robes and pulled out his trusty spellbook. Eva chuckled silently to herself as she noted that he still didn't even bother to memorize any of his spells. At least her and her apprentices all did. He flipped through the pages and started to glow. His Latin needed work, but nonetheless recited one spell and after a few minutes, his body stopped glowing.

"That takes care of the barrier around the school. Now for your own."

He flipped through the pages one more and found the spell. "I hope you are prepared for this."

And without giving Eva anytime to brace herself, he began to chant another spell, this time, much longer. A magic circle appeared under her and a gust of wind actually blew her school skirt up. Eva screamed a short scream before reaching down quickly to cover her panties from view. Luckily no one else was around and Nagi was reading from his spellbook.

The small vampire felt an odd sensation sweeping over her. She reached down and grasped her chest as she began to feel an immense pain, though it felt oddly good at the same time. It was hard to describe but one could relate it to a dam suddenly bursting and all of the water suddenly rushing forth. That's sort of what Evangeline felt. She felt wave after wave after wave of power and energy working its way through her body. She had to will herself not to scream and told herself to bear the pain. It was dreadful, and at the same time, pleasurable as well. She could feel every cell, molecule and fiber in her tiny body strengthening, each one being infused with energy that she worked centuries to acquire and hone in.

_Yes! I can feel it! The power! My own power is finally coming back to me! All of it!_

Eva let out a growl, and animal-like growl. One that had an undertone of lust and hunger that wasn't realized for a long time as her body reclaimed its former glory and strength.

After what felt like an hour the pain finally stopped. Nagi had only been chanting for about a minute, but it took several minutes for the seals that he put in place to undo themselves.

Eva could not believe it.

Evangeline had finally been freed from her spell from the Thousand Master. She flexed her arms and stretched her limbs to allow the power and blood to flow more freely. It felt........good. She moaned as she concentrated her mind on reading the immense amount of energy that flowed through her body. She couldn't help but smile, and evil, twisted smile. It was one of few times she felt happy, happy that she had regained all her powers, and the massive rush was something the little vampire enjoyed, you could say, a feeling similar to an orgasm.......

* * *

"Evangeline?" said a voice.

"Eh? What happened?"

"You were spaced out for a long time. We've arrived at our destination Master." Negi said. Eva grabbed her bag and followed everyone else out of the train and disembarked onto the stone platform.

The group had arrived in Glasgow, one of Scotland's two largest cities. They still had a bit of a ways to go to get to her castle, but the air and sounds of Scotland hadn't changed much as Eva could remember it.

"Welcome back Evangeline. To your old home."

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Please read and review!


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry I haven't updated in a while!

Please review, or else Evangeline is going to suck your blood away!

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Taking Time with Nagi

The Thousand Master wandered around Mahora Campus. Ah, how me missed this place. Nostalgia was all around him.

He had already had a long and pleasant conversation with his old friend, Professor Takahata, and played a few games of Go with Dean Konoe. Now he was just wandering around the school and enjoying his time.

He looked up and noticed that he reached the center of the campus where the World Tree was located. He gazed up at the gigantic tree and marveled at its size and age. As he looked up and down its ageless branches, he noticed a small figure sitting on one branch. There was a gust of wind, and blew the girl's blond hair around.

Nagi knew it had to be Evangeline. He had been around her too long and notice her distinctive shade of hair.

He slowly climbed up the tree to where she was sitting and said hi to her. She merely mumbled a response back.

"W-what are you still doing here?" The petite blonde asked.

"I was about to to ask you the same thing. I thought you'd be a long ways from here."

"I.....I was just getting used to my powers again.......I still have some unfinished business here. And you still haven't answered me."

"Oh nothing much, Negi went back to teach classes so I decided to talk to you some more. We haven't spoken for many years haven't we?"

"No. What are you trying to get at?"

"I heard you took Negi and some of his students as your apprentices. I didn't expect the infamous Dark Evangel would share her knowledge and secrets so willingly."

"Don't misunderstand Nagi. I did it because he requested personally. I felt that I could get another servant."

"Heh, fifteen years later and you're still thinking the same old things... I only hope that you and my son don't have too many conflicts of interests."

"Whatever.........." She drifted off somewhere.

For several minutes the two just stared out into the distance looking at the lake and Library Island. Nagi enjoyed moments like these; he knew that life was too short and he wanted to enjoy the finer details while he still could.

"Hey, do you mind showing me your castle and resort? I heard that it was a very wonderful place for everyone to meet and train and to relax every now and then."

Eva was surprised at this request but nonetheless nodded and she floated off the branch only to hover a few feet off the ground next to Nagi. This way, it made Eva feel she was still on the same level as Nagi, both figuratively and literally. She lead Nagi to her cabin in the woods and into the basement where the glass sphere setup was located.

"You've been living large for a middle-school girl." Nagi said with a slight grin.

Eva brushed his comment aside. He was good at that. He always seemed to poke fun at her for whatever reason, but he did it ever so carefully that he still had his head on his shoulders at the end of the day. On the other hand it annoyed Eva as she could do little to curb his taunts.

As soon as they neared the five glass sphere setup Eva said, "I should warn you that we will be stuck in here for one whole day. Don't worry, that equivocates to an hour in the outside world."

Nagi chuckled. "That's fine by me. I'm almost thirty-six now, an extra day is not going to hurt."

A magic rune appeared beneath them and the two were sucked into the glass sphere. Almost immediately, Nagi's jaw nearly dropped to the floor at what he saw. In front of him he saw a vast, white-washed castle that he has only read about in storybooks when he was a kid. The castle was situated against a cliff and had a large central tower that began below and reached high into the sky. Below him, he noted that near the bottom of the tower were two concentric rings evenly spaced with many more towers. Around the castle there was a tropical jungle complete with huge waterfalls.

"Th-this is........amazing Eva!" Nagi said gaping like a fish out of water. He turned his head this way and that, trying to take it all in at once.

"It's-it's nothing special actually.....oh, that circle in front of you is a shortcut to the castle. It's 500 meters if you walk the whole length."

_He's just like his son. _She thought to herself.

Nagi was confused at Eva's statement. _ It's nothing special.. _How was this not special? He would give just about anything to live in a castle! He looked on at Eva for a while. He noticed that even now, after she had all her powers back, she still didn't seem very happy.

They decided to take the shortcut and instantly the two were teleported to the front of the castle. From this view the castle looked even larger and grander than before. Nagi also had a chance to take note of the finer details that the castle had: an extended balcony that had several smaller observation platforms sticking out, an outdoor barbecue, two smaller pavilions, and a full spa.

Eva decided to backtrack and show Nagi the various training areas that were attached to the castle. All the while Nagi seemed thoroughly impressed at the little vampire mages' accomplishments contrary to what his blood thirsty host felt was just for show.

It was about midday already inside the sphere after walking through the many spheres. Eva and Nagi just arrived back at Castle Lebens Schuld several of Chachamaru's sisters came forward to greet them and bowed.

"Good afternoon, shall I have lunch prepared Mistress?"

"Yes, please do. We shall have lunch on the terrace."

"Very well Mistress," and with that she bowed again and left. At the same time another servant came forward and motioned for them to follow her.

Nagi and Eva were escorted outside the castle and onto the outdoor terrace of the castle. Nagi noted that this one was smaller instead of the main terrace that had several tables and chairs set up. As Nagi sat down in the wooden chair, he took a deep breath to take in the scenery as well as steady his mind at this rather unique experience.

Another robotic maid came a few moments later carrying a tray with their drinks. This one had long raven hair tied in a ponytail.

"What tea would you like Mr. Springfield?" The maid asked holding out the tray and showing a dozen tea flavors to choose from.

Nagi coughed a little at the comment as he was never addressed such formally before. Then again, he never cared much for being formal himself.

"I'll have this one. Earl Grey Black Tea."

The maid set the tea bag in the teapot and poured hot water from a kettle. She set the teapot alone with honey, sugar, milk cream and a little saucer and teacup in front of Nagi. She turned to her mistress and set her drink on the table as well.

"Here you go. Please enjoy." The robotic servant said and gave a small bow.

"Heh, you really know how to spoil yourself don't you Eva?" Nagi said before taking a sip of his tea. "Hmm, it's good."

Was that meant as a compliment or an insult? In any case she hated being called 'spoiled.'

"Don't call me spoiled.......and um.......I.....I'm glad you like the tea."

Eva hated when people called her spoiled. She didn't mind when people actually called her evil or wicked considering that's what she wanted others to say. She didn't think of herself as spoiled. Spoiled people are rich kids who are raised in sheltered homes, think they understand the real world when in reality they don't.

She wasn't like that. She's seen things other people wouldn't even begin to dream of. She's has not only seen the bloody wars that ravaged through Europe but lived through them. She's seen empires fall, countries rise, blood and murder on the scale of hundreds of thousands, a good portion were killed by her own hands. Her parents never spoiled her, she had to fend for herself all these years, and Nagi dared to call her spoiled?

"What's that your drinking by the way?" Nagi asked as Eva took a sip of her drink. From a glance it looked like a fancy multi-layered strawberry smoothie.

"Oh this is just a blend of my favorite liquids in one drink. It has blood, cherry syrup, fruit juice and swirled with rum and red wine." She said nonchalantly and took a sip from the straw.

The Thousand Master made a face but quickly hid it from her. Ah, what he could say? The girl loved red colored drinks.

Nagi had been thinking again about Eva's actions. Somehow the little vampire continued to fascinate him whether it was some cool battle trick or some new spell that she had learned. But there was something about her that still bugged him.

Their food arrived several minutes later. An extra rare steak for Eva and chicken for Nagi.

As Nagi took his first bite into his food he felt as if he was in heaven.

There was no joking around. He had his fair share of travels and ate all kinds of food both in this world and the Magic world. This tasted absolutely delicious.

He wasn't used to fine dining although he had once been invited by the Queen of Mundus Magica for a special dinner and congratulations. Nevertheless, the service the food, the surroundings, it all was surreal to him in many ways, and it was on the level of the best hotels in the world in his opinion.

During their meal, Nagi talked a little about his travels around the world. Eva was comfortable around that subject since she herself has seem a good portion of the world herself. She actually found herself smiling a few times as they exchanged stories of legends, war heroes and battles that took place in the areas they visited.

Eva wasn't used to these kinds of talk. She ate her meals alone most of time as she didn't really have many people to talk to. But she found herself talking.....normally for once, something she didn't do very often.

After lunch, the two mages took a walk again this time to one of the side pavilions. It was a quaint little location with a swimming pool and hot spa. There was a patio with stone benches giving whoever sat there a perfect view of the majestic castle. Nagi asked if the two could sit down here for a while and just talk and enjoy themselves.

Eva gave a small nod and sat down.

For a moment, the two said nothing. There was only the sound of the waterfalls and the gust of artificial wind inside the glass sphere. Nagi was the first to speak.

"Eva, I want to say thank you. Thank you for helping to look after my son and have trained him to his current power level. I am very impressed. Second, I couldn't help but notice this: You seem to have all this around you, yet you don't seem very happy. Why is that?"

"I........I guess........I just don't feel I have enough. Besides, I'm always trying to improve. If you get too content about something, someone else will over take you."

He nodded to show he understood. It was Eva's turn to ask a question.

"Why? Why did you leave me here? Where were you this whole time?"

Nagi took a deep breath before answering. "I cannot tell you where I have been this whole time. I'm afraid that's confidential to the mages. I can tell you why I left you here."

"Nagi! Please tell me!" he was quite startled by her sudden change of character. "Was......was I not good enough for you? Was I not powerful enough? Beautiful enough? You know I can become like that!"

He sighed and shook his head slightly.

During the time Nagi spent with Eva he came to understand more her situation. He couldn't guess how many years she's spent as a vampire, but he did note that she had a fierce independent streak. Nagi had tried many times to show her a different path to walk down on, without forcing her to give up being a vampire. Being that independent and self-reliant had its merits but that's also made her shut others out and made her selfish. Her ambition to be the most powerful dark mage and vampire also made her greedy and created an insatiable desire to succeed at any cost.

"No Evangeline, that's not it. You never could understand such things could you? You.........you shouldn't try to force yourself on other people like that."

Eva opened her mouth to protest but quickly closed it as Nagi continued. "Let's assume for a minute that you are not a child and that your true form was your adult form. No one can deny that you are one sexy babe when you're in that form." Nagi added as a light-hearted joke. "That wouldn't have stopped you from trying to force yourself upon me nor others. And that does not change your personality."

Eva merely nodded.

His face turned to a small smile, the same reassuring smile that made her heart, or what was left of it, beat twice as fast. "I just wouldn't want someone to work their butt off all day just for me, while I would be flattered by your hard work. I heard from Takamichi that you worked very hard in your first years in Mahora. He said it was all because you wanted to impress me when I returned for you graduation."

Eva nodded again but did not say anything.

"Look, while I am proud that you do work hard, you should do it because you feel like doing it, not because of me. I left you at Mahora merely to show you another path that you can take. I know of several other vampires who live happily and they are not as nearly as strong as you. I think part of your obsession with power has to do with the fact that you feel.......empty inside. And you want to fill that void with power."

He paused to take a breath and tried to read Eva's expression.

"It's only natural. If you were hungry you'd want something to eat to fill you up."

Again Eva nodded but did not say anything.

"Look, I'm not trying to force you to give up being evil. I just wanted to know that there is so much out there than just being evil and powerful. You've asked me several questions already now it's my turn. First, tell me again, why do you care for power so much?"

The little vampiress finally broke her own silence. "I said before that I like it. That's all."

"Well, it just seems odd that's all. You know with you being already super-powerful. I mean, you claim that Castle Lebens Schuld is not anything special nor is your resort. How did you build this by the way?"

"Oh......I simply took the area around the castle, cut it up and shrunk it down to place in a glass sphere. Then I used another spell to create a time hole."

"And you call that nothing special? I've traveled a ways myself, but not once have I came upon a hotel that comes close to its opulence. Heck, I don't even know of anyone who can transport and entire castle and create a miniature dimension all on there own. That's really, really advanced stuff Evangeline. You should be proud of yourself."

"I........I suppose so......."

The two broke of talking for a while and silence resumed again.

Eva sometimes found compliments annoying like that. But Nagi was being sincere. She wasn't used to that. She was able to do crazy stuff with her magic that no mage would be able to learn in a single lifetime. She just did it so often that it became almost normal for her. She felt......happy that he complimented her abilities like that, whereas most people feared them.

"You miss your parents too, don't you?" he asked after another long pause.

Eva snapped out of her daydream. "EH?!! Why would you say that?"

"You know you don't always have to hide behind that dark facade of yours all the time. It's not like I'm going to hurt you or anything. I noticed the way you saw me and Negi bonding the other day. When-when I saw your face I knew. You never were good at hiding your emotions Eva."

"I..........I suppose.........I miss them a little........" Eva trailed off.

"It is only natural. I know you do have a reputation to keep up but..........I think they would've been proud of you too."

"How would you know? You haven't met them before, they're long dead."

"That's true. Call it a parent's instinct I suppose. You know Eva, I think I just found one of your reasons for liking power so much. I don't claim to know what happened to you all those years ago, but I suppose that ever since your parents passed away, or whenever you became a vampire, you've had to rely on yourself. Oh, I'm not saying its a bad thing or anything! If that's what you like than please go on ahead, I won't try and stop you."

Nagi hesitated a little before continuing. "You probably have not heard about this, but......I hope you understand that power can't buy you everything."

With those few words, Eva felt her world crumble apart. For so long she had believed that power could solve any and all problems she had. From surviving the witch hunts in the fifteenth century, to getting her revenge on the man who made her this way, she knew if she needed to survive, she needed power. She was somewhat of a sickly child and she hated being weak.

But what Nagi said shattered centuries of her pattern of thinking. Although she herself grew more powerful in those fifteen years, she was still back at square one with Nagi. She wanted to be loved by Nagi for a long time, yet she could not buy that love. He was right there, not two feet in front of her, yet his heart was elsewhere. His heart belonged to someone else. No amount of power that Eva acquired could buy the love she so wanted.

Nagi smiled and placed a hand on the top of Eva's head and rubbed it gently. "I hope you understand now."

"I..........I don't know what so say........" Eva was shocked that Nagi seemed to care less about the fact that she was evil. Negi on the other hand was more gung-ho about trying to halt her evil ways. But after 'defeating' her in battle, he brushed it off as just her personality.

Again there was silence between the two.

"Um, Nagi?"

"Yes? What do you want?"

"Do you think that...........that I could........"

"If you're still trying to get me to love you like all those years ago, forget it. I said before I'm not interested in little girls. Besides I'm married."

"Uh....no, that's not it."

"Then what is it?"

Eva hesitated for a second. "Could I.......have some of your blood? I.........I've always wanted to taste it........"

_So after all this time that's what she wanted?_ If that's all she wanted, there was no way he could say no.

"Sure." and the Thousand Master rolled up his sleeve and held it out for the waiting vampire's mouth.

Before Eva took a bite, she looked up at him questioningly. "What? Just like that? No strings attached?"

"Uh.....no." _Why? Did she expect a catch or something? I'm just trying to be nice to her. _

Nagi flinched as Eva's sharp fangs pierced his skin and started to use his arm as a drinking straw to draw out her favorite drink. As Eva slurped Nagi's magic-rich blood, she felt comfortable. Nagi too also noticed this. He saw Eva close her eyes and the faintest of smiles reached her lips. At the same time he took a double-take as he thought he saw a single tear drip down her eye.............

Again he placed a gentle hand on her head and rubbed back and forth. She really does seem like the daughter he always wanted but never had sitting like this.


	3. Chapter 3

Nothing too special here, just a prelude into Eva's medieval life. This also gave me a chance to portray a medieval castle and show a different time, a time of the past.

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The Castle Tour (part 1)

The group stepped off the train a little after 11:00 in the morning and looked around. The first thing they noticed was that it was a little more chilly than in Wales despite being only a hundred miles north. Glasgow was a very beautiful town, unlike the cities the girls were used to growing up in Japan. The city, though modernized on the inside, still looked to be frozen in time as much of the city looked like it was constructed in the last century and the buildings and air reminded them of a much more different time.

As they walked through town they passed by a field of flowers that Konoka noticed right away.

"Wahh!!! Look at that! It's so beautiful! Don't you think so Secchan?" Konoka asked pulling the half-demon closer to her.

"Uh....yes....it is........really beautiful ojou-sama...." She felt really uncomfortable when she did that.

It was a sea of lilac flowers dotted with numerous other flowers like some small white flowers and red flowers that Negi and the others had no names for. The girls had rarely been in the countryside in Japan, and that was mostly farmland that they traveled or passed by. Seeing a large field of flowers like that was like a page out of a storybook.

Negi didn't notice Eva's rather sadden look as she looked out at the field.

"..........lilacs......." she said barely audiable.

"Did you say something Master?"

"No, nothing. Let's keep going."

Coming back to her old home was.........nostalgic and at the same time..........saddening. Out of all the places she traveled to in her many years as a vampire Scotland was one of the places she never visited again. There were just too many sad memories of this place. But sure enough, around midday they were in the shadows of Castle McDowell.

As Negi lined up to pay for their tickets, Evangeline whispered something in Chachamaru's ear. Asuna and Setsuna also felt that something was up between the two and felt that some time today they should tell the ten-year-old teacher mage how Eva really became a vampire. Negi was about to pay for their tickets when Chachamaru pulled him over.

"You don't have to pay for the two of us. We won't be going in."

"Eh?! Why not?"

"Master says she doesn't want to and feels embarrassed."

"Oh well, suit yourselves then." Asuna said. As the two turned to walk back down the hill, Asuna wondered why Evangeline didn't want to see her old home again, although this castle could very have been from another clan with the same last name.

So everyone except Evangeline and Chachamaru paid for their tickets and headed up the hill to the tour entrance. They found themselves standing on a large paved terrace with parapets running along the edges. From their they had a fantastic view of the surrounding area.

They were greeted about ten minutes later by a man in his mid thirties.

"Morning everyone! Are you here for the 12:30 tour?" He asked Negi and the other girls.

"Yes we are!" Negi said holding out the patch of tickets.

"Okay, I can take your tickets right now if you'd like. The tour won't start for another ten minutes so we have some time.

While they waited for the group before them to start, Gustav started giving a brief history of the castle. He chatted briefly with Negi and the girls and were impressed that they had come all the way from Japan to see the castle. They decided not to mention anything about Eva.

"Throughout this tour you will see what it was like to live in a castle in the medieval ages. When one thinks about castles, generally the first thing that comes to mind are military fortresses for defense. That is partially true. They not only served as fortresses but they also served as a stronghold for powerful rulers. If you lived in one of these castles that meant that you were someone worthy of recognition. The castle was built around the late eleventh century by the Galloways as a fortress to defend Scotland from the English invaders. About half a century later, Clan McDowell took possession of the castle and made it into their stronghold and home."

"There's nothing I know of that's that old back home in Japan! That must have been a really long time ago."

As the tour group gathered together, Gustav shifted his tone to a more formal tone. "Now that everyone's here, I would like to welcome everyone to Castle McDowell. My name is Gustav and I'll be your tour guide today!" He said cheerfully.

After collecting everyone's tickets he motioned for everyone to follow him up the hill towards the castle entrance. He himself was walking backwards, his feet making careful and precise steps showing that he had done this tour many times before.

"Before we begin the tour I just want to make clear a few rules. Please take care not to touch any of the furniture in the castle. Also please do not wander off by yourself as the castle is quite large and one can easily get lost. Lord Alexander Mauris McDowell was one of the key figures in the expansion of the castle. He added on to it, making it more sophisticated and more fit for a home than just a military fortress. If you turn around you can see this castle is built on the edge of a lake. This provided a strategic defense point which was easily to defend."

"Wow!"

"It's very beautiful!"

"Can we stop to take a picture here?"

"Please by all means! This is a very popular spot with tourists." Gustav told the excited group.

They had reached the top of the terrace and they could see the lush green landscape of Scotland's countryside. They could feel the cool breeze on their face and subtle crashing of the river against the banks of the castle walls.

After snapping a few pictures, Gustav directed them to stand in front of the gatehouse. It was a very large and imposing stone structure with two u-shaped towers flanking a gateway that looked like a mouth of a beast waiting to feed on its prey. Gustav stopped walking and explained the finer details.

"This is our first stop. You can see there is a portcullis made of iron. In the event of an attack, this would have been lowered to prevent any invaders from getting through. The narrow slots you see here on the sides are for archers who would shoot arrows at the attackers. They were angled in such a way as to give the attackers a very hard time. If you were able to get through the gate, right above us is a small hole. This is where the defenders would have poured hot oil over you. Let's move on to the main courtyard."

Negi pipped up first, "But I always thought that Scotland at the time did not have these technologies?"

"Right, wasn't there something like that about the story of Braveheart or something?" Asuna added as well.

Gustav smiled and said as they passed under the gate, his voice echoing slightly as the sounds bounced off the walls, "Ah, that's not completely correct. It is true that Braveheart helped sew the seeds of Scotland today, but it was not a backward looking area as people have thought it was. The castles scattered around the countryside are living proof to the technologies available at the time."

Soon after the tour group reached the courtyard. When they stepped out of the gatehouse, it was like going through a portal through time. Gustav walked forward a few paces and stopped.

"This is the main courtyard that stands in the middle of the castle. This was the area where daily activities of the castle's residents took place. Since this was built in the late eleventh century, it still retains the large keep" he gestured behind him, "that served as the command center for the structure. It was not until two centuries afterwards that castles were built with concentric defenses and the idea of a central tower abandoned."

He lead the group around the courtyard to get another view before be continued.

"As you can see, most of the important structures were built around the courtyard. The barracks housed the knights of the castle. And was built near the entrance for easy access to the gate and the armory, which weapons were kept was built next to that. The Knights at the time would have worn heavy plate armor covering most of their body and would have weighed in excess of sixty pounds."

The group did not say much, merely awed and nodded at his words.

Gustav lead them through a few rooms and into the armory. On display were several weapons of every kind. There were swords, large and small, shields, pole arms, maces, bows and arrows, various pieces of body armor and chain mail on display. Gustav waited for everyone to enter the room, and allowed them a few minutes to take in the mass of objects that crammed the room. "This is a replication of the armor that would have been worn by a knight. So for anyone here who is big on romance, this is a knight in shining armor's armor."

There was a round of laughter and appreciation. For Negi, Anya and Nekane, they were used to seeing stuff like this, but for the others who were from the opposite side of the world, this was a entirely new experience.

"This garb over here would have been worn by a squire, perhaps someone like this young lad here in the front." He pointed to Negi.

After several more minutes of looking at the display, Gustav lead them out of the Armory and back into the courtyard.

"Ah, I would have loved to be a princess in this castle!" Konoka said cheerfully but with a soft voice. "It must have been such a romantic time!"

The others sweatdropped. "Uh, but Konoka? Aren't you already a princess or something from Japan?" Anya asked.

"Oh! Right, hehe, sorry."

"You've been awfully quite this time Anya, is something wrong?" Negi asked his childhood friend.

"Uh, no not really. I suppose I.........am a little jealous......that's all. I-I guess I never thought I would be seeing the home where the Dark Evangel once lived in. I bet she grew up to be a bit of a spoiled brat."

"Now, now Anya, you mustn't be so quick to make calls now," Nekane warned the smaller mage. "I personally think she's a nice person at heart."

"You really think that sister?" Negi asked.

"Yes I do. If she really was as evil as she claims to be, why did she agree to come with us in the first place?"

"I guess you're right."

But before they could continue their conversation, Gustav had stopped the group again. This time they were on the opposite side of the gate, just outside a large structure. Gustav lead them to main section of the castle that he knew many were waiting for.

After walking through a set of rather imposing oak doors, the group had stepped in what they felt was the grandest and possibly the largest room in the castle, the Great Hall.

Gustav read correctly by the open mouths and silence what the group was thinking of.

The Great Hall was constructed adjacent to the Keep. It had a high, vaulted ceiling constructed from the local timber, large flags with the emblem of the McDowell Clan decorated the huge pillars of the room and on the halls were several large tapestries depicting battles and medieval life. There were three long tables arranged in a 'u' shape; two on the sides and one in front of a large, stone fireplace.

"This room was the main dining area for the family, knights and servants. On top of the fireplace you can see a large portrait of the Lord McDowell and his wife. They would have sat on one side of the long table, and would be served from the other side. Now remember, there weren't cutlery or silverware in the middle ages, so everyone had to use their hands, sort of puts a new spin on 'finger foods doesn't it?"

Again there was a round of hearty laughter from the crowd as they tried to picture what it would be like to be eating without modern utensils. Gustav started talking about the finer construction details, but Negi and the others were not paying attention. Instead, they were looking up at the portrait.

It was a fine portrait indeed that depicted two figures. On the left was Lord McDowell, a tall, red-haired man presumably his mid-twenties. He was neatly groomed and had his hair tied back into a ponytail and wore rich clothing for the time, judging by the ruff and dress sword. He had his arm around the figure on the right, which looked somewhat like an older Nekane as she had long blonde hair and a similar smile. In her arms, she carried an infant child curled up in a blanket.

Negi felt an odd sensation in his stomach as he looked at the painting. Lady McDowell looked eerily like Evangeline's adult form. If that was the case, then this truly was her old home. From what he could see, they seemed happy from the painting, he wondered what could they thought when their daughter turned herself into a vampire.

As they continued on with their tour, Asuna pulled Negi aside and whispered what Eva had told her and Setsuna after her battle in the Mahora Tournament.

She felt she had to say it to him, because she didn't want to give him the wrong idea. After explaining that Eva was turned into a vampire against her will, Negi was certainly shocked.

"Eh?! How is that possible? I always thought as a little girl, she cared a lot for power and wanted to be the best!"

Asuna shook her head slightly at Negi and said, "She would have been about seven or eight years old and why would she study magic? She had everything a kid could possibly want at the time, so why would Eva want more? I know that she can be pretty strict about training and seem a bit greedy at times, but I wanted to know that she wasn't always this way okay Negi?"

"Okay Asuna, I'll remember that. Still, I wonder what really happened though, it must have been very hard for her....."

"I know, Negi," and with that the two caught back up with the tour group with a solemn look on both faces.

Meanwhile, outside of the castle Evangeline and Chachamaru had arrived back at the sea of lilac flowers.

"Why did you come here Master?"

"Theses flowers they were........my mother's favorite."

"I see."


	4. Chapter 4

Scotland, The War of Scottish Independence

This was a troublesome time indeed. The Kingdom of Scotland was without a king and subsequently, was without a strong leader to fight against their main foes, the English.

Almost a century earlier, the man of legend, William Wallace, fought fiercely for Scotland's independence. He was a relatively unknown person at the time but gained prominence from his battles, particularly the Battle of Sterling Bridge and his capture of several English Castles. Sadly, it was not until Robert the Bruce, also known as Robert I, forged a peace treaty a century later that finally secured the country's independence in 1328 and himself as King of the Scots.

The McDowell's 'parent' clan, the McDougalls, were originally strong supporters of Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence a century ago. However, they were betrayed and their lands were ceded to other clans who supported House Bruce.

For almost ten years, they fought a bitter mini war with House Bruce, eventually culminating in their defeat in 1308 at the Battle of Pass of Brander.

Although King Robert was responsible for creating an independent kingdom, his allies and stance was rocky at best as his alliances often switched between the English and Scottish armies leading to great mistrust by the other clans, namely the McDougalls and Cowyns. Before his ascension to the throne, he had a list of crimes and betrayals on his list. One of them was the murder of the then most powerful person in Scotland, John Cowyn.

John Cowyn, who had a much more solid reputation for his opposition of the English, also had a more powerful claim to the Scottish throne through his descent from Donald III, who was the 20th King of Scots on his fathers side and David I, who was 24th King of Scots, on his mothers side. In addition, he was also the nephew of King John, 30th King of Scots.

However, in the late summer of 1305 in a secret agreement sworn, signed and sealed, John Comyn agreed to forfeit his claim to the Scottish throne in favor of Robert Bruce upon receipt of the Bruce lands in Scotland should an uprising occur led by Bruce.

According to some historians, Comyn betrayed his agreement with Bruce to King Edward I, and when Bruce arranged a meeting with him in the Church of Greyfriars in Dumfries and accused Comyn of treachery, they came to blows. Bruce reportedly killed Comyn before the high altar of the church of the monastery and fled.

Bruce hurried from Dumfries to Glasgow, where, kneeling before the bishop, he made confession of his violence and sacrilege and was granted absolution by the Bishop. The clergy throughout the land was adjured to rally to Bruce by Wishart. In spite of this, Bruce was excommunicated for this crime, which eventually led to the excommunication first of the barons who supported him and then the entire country. With no one else to turn to, he was presented with two choices: become king or a fugitive. Bruce naturally chose the former and asserted his claim to the Scottish Crown.

He was crowned King of the Scots on the 25th of March, 1306 with all formality and solemnity. The kingly robes and vestments which were hidden from the English during their initial invasions were brought out by the bishop and set upon King Robert. The bishops of St. Andrews, Moray and Glasgow were in attendance as well as the earls of Atholl, Menteith, Lennox, and Mar. The great banner of the kings of Scotland was planted behind his throne. Robert the Bruce had become the new king, although in the eyes of the rest of the country, Robert was no more king than a filthy Englishman. He had stolen the throne from its rightful heirs all because he had the backing of the church. The story was passed down through the Cowyns, who had ties to Clan McDougall, and later on to Clan McDowell.

* * *

Castle McDowell, Scotland 1377 A.D.

Now when a little girl thinks of living the life of a princess, she tends to think…an amazing castle with servants at your beck and call…..lounging around eating fancy meals and wearing pretty dresses, and so on like a fairy tale. But not for a certain young girl. Life in a castle for Evangeline Anthanasia Katherine McDowell, and being a princess…well for lack of a better word, sucked.

To begin with, she wasn't really a princess. She was merely the ward and daughter of one Lord Alexander Mauris McDowell. Though that is not to say she still didn't enjoy the perks one would have if she was a princess.

But putting it in perspective, when Clan McDowell is in the middle of fighting a war and your father is never at home in the castle because he is out in battle or other business and your mother is so obsessed about ruling in his absence, that she is constantly punishing and scolding you for, "not being the proper lady," or "you're not allowed to leave the castle," life for the young girl wasn't as great as one would think.

The eight-year-old Evangeline McDowell was contemplating this for the umpteenth time as she lay wide awake in her grand four posters bed in the early hours of the morning. She stirred when she heard a knocking at her door.

"Milady Evangeline, do you awaken from your sleep?" a female voice called out from the other side of the oak door.

Eva rose up her long flowing hair falling to her sides. "Aye, I am awake. Charlotte, the door is open."

The door opened to reveal one of the McDowells' many servants. She was rather tall for her age and her most noticeable feature was her long oddly green hair.

The now named Charlotte walked in carrying a tray with the day's breakfast and placed it on Eva's lap. "Did you sleep well mistress?"

"Yes, quite well Charlotte. Thank you for asking, etiquette lessons wore me out the other night, mother is so strict."

Unlike most of the castle staff, Eva's personal maid Charlotte was easy to talk to…or rather one of the only two people's company she actually enjoyed. Everyone else paid too much attention to her position as the only daughter of a clan leader and possibly a ruler in the future.

"Ah yes, but you should know your mother is only trying to make you into the proper lady to lead some day. Your father has yet to bear sons or other heirs." Charlotte was being sympathetic as she drew the drapes to let in the morning sun's rays.

Eva sighed as she began eating. "Yes I know. But......sometimes I only wish I could have been born just a few years past."

Charlotte took a seat on the bed next to her and nodded, "So as to not be confined in this castle and be able to see the outside world like a bird in the skies?"

The blonde haired mistress let out another sigh and continued eating. "Yes, with this stupid war going on father is never home," she pouted. Yes this was the life of a ward during these times.

Charlotte gave a smile, "Forgive me for not knowing more about what is happening out there, but I know your father is doing his best to keep us all safe."

Evangeline sighed and looked down at her almost-clean plate. She knew this was the truth but it still bothered her. She could count how many days she saw him the past year alone and it was not even four moon cycles. She finished eating and got out of bed and proceeded to get dressed. "Still, I wish I could spend more time with father."

Charlotte presented Eva with her daily clothes, "Of course, your mother is still here."

"Yes, but with her it's all about memorizing procedures, studying and being a proper ruler." Eva began dressing, "I can't really ever think of a time when Mother actually wanted to spend time with me."

"Hmm, well maybe you need to take the initiative?" the green haired Maid suggested.

"Initiative?" Evangeline's mind couldn't make heads or tails of this.

"It could be my women's intuition but I think your mother must also be suffering a great deal of stress as of now, what with her husband out in the war an all." Charlotte was trying to lighten the mood while helping Eva lace up the strings of her dress on her back.

Now the naive Evangeline was even more confused. "Mother is under stress? How could that be?"

"Why not give her some flowers to let you know you appreciate her. I happen to know Lilacs are her favorites." Charlotte gave a smile or what she hoped to be a reassuring one.

Evangeline thought about this as she picked up her favorite comb from her dresser and combed through her long hair. She had been growing it out for some time now, and already reached past her waist. Her servant Charlotte just always seemed to know the right things to say to make her feel better. No matter how strict her lessons were, Evangeline could always count on seeing Charlotte's pale, young face the morning after always there to give her a boost. In all honesty in the young Evangeline's mind Charlotte was more of a mother than her actual mother, Lady Athanasia Victoria McDowell.

"You are quite right Charlotte, but wouldn't mother be cross with me for being with you so much?"

Charlotte took Evangeline's clean tray and clothes, "Well, it will be our little secret. Tell you what, after your morning tutoring sessions let's go into the garden and pick some fresh lilacs for your mother," the maid gave a wink.

"Morning lessons?" Something dawned on Evangeline as a wide smile appeared on her face. She set the comb back down on the dresser.

"Ah that's right, Sir Vincent is coming today!" She exclaimed as she ran out of her room. Charlotte spun around to see Eva's retreating form.

"Have a fun time Mistress." She said as she continued her duties.

Evangeline ran as fast as she could down the spiral stone staircase to the first floor of the castle. Her room was located in one of the towers and was connected by a corridor. She had to run down a ways because the be chambers were on the fourth floor. When she reached the hall overlooking the first floor, she saw him entering through the entrance hall's grand oak doors.

"Ah Sir Vincent!" Evangeline called out with a big smile on her face and waved.

The young man in question looked to be in his late teens to early twenties. He wore spectacles, and had long brown hair groomed neatly to his shoulders. He was dressed richly for his work and had an air of elegance about him.

"Ah There's little Evangeline now!" The man known as Vincent smiled back and returned her wave.

Aside from Charlotte, Evangeline's private language tutor her parents hired for her was the only other person she felt comfortable with. Vincent always seemed to make her studies more enjoyable than her other tutors. Whenever he came by he would always tell her fascinating stories from the birth of the Roman Republic to the fall of the Frankish Empire, and even stories that surrounded Scotland's hero, William Wallace. On many an occasion, he would bring gifts from the unfamiliar "outside world," the world that laid beyond the stone fortifications of the castle. It was only natural that Evangeline saw him as the prominent father figure in her life right now.

"Sir Vincent!" Evangeline ran down the last flight of stairs and nearly tacked the man. Vincent just laughed, "Ha ha, good to see you again too young mistress. How do you do this fine morning?"

Eva was excited, "So, Sir Vincent, what are you going to teach me today, do you have any stories, or did you bring me something from your travels?"

Vincent merely laughed again. "Ha ha ha, settle down Kitty. I'll tell you once we get to your studies." He always enjoyed Evangeline's lively spirit and likened it to a cat, hence her special name, Kitty. He couldn't help smiling as they made their way to the library.

Sir Vincent was hired by the Lord several months ago because he heard that he traveled far and wide and could speak four languages fluently. He was instructed to teach Eva Latin and French, the first so that she may one day be able to read the bible and classical texts and the latter for diplomatic purposes as the Scots and the French both hated the English.

Castle McDowell Library:

"So Kitty can you translate the phrase Memento mori?" Vincent pointed to the slate in the wall with the Latin phrase.

Evangeline nodded. "Yes Memento mori….it is a Latin phrase that stands for, 'remember that you are mortal.'" She recited straight from memory.

Vincent applauded. "Very well done Kitty." He looked out the window. "Hmm, it looks like we still have some time before I go." He looked at little Evangeline with a warm look in his eyes.

"How about I tell you a story?" he said. The second he finished his sentence, Eva practically jumped up from her chair. "Oh really?! What are you going to share today Sir Vincent?"

Vincent smiled as he picked up his book, "Oh, it's a fascinating story about a mysterious witch who actually used this very same Latin phrase to conjure magic spells."

"Wow really?" Eva looked on in fascination as she listened intently. "Where do you get such fascinating stories from?" Evangeline asked when Vincent was done.

Vincent smiled warmly, "Well you pick up on these sort of things when you travel a lot like me. I had to run many an errand for Lord McDougall to France and the other kingdoms on the mainland."

Evangeline got gloomy again, "Wow, the outside world sounds exiting if only mother and father would let me out of the castle grounds…"

"It's only because of the war going on Kitty. Trust me, it isn't a place for girls your age to be out there right now. You needn't worry about such things. You may be Lord McDowell's daughter, but you are still only a young lady. I do however have an idea," he smiled.

"What Sir Vincent?" Eva was curious.

Vincent laughed "Tell you what Kitty. How about when you turn ten years old I promise to show you the outside world. The war should be over by then and I don't think your parents would object." He stated gently.

"Really?! Do you promise?" Eva was so exited that she ran over and gave Vincent a hug.

Vincent nodded and patted the top of her head, "I promise on your tenth birthday I will show you the outside world."

* * *

A/N: Yay! I finally have Eva's past life started! However, I could not have done this without the help of two people. The first is Kafka'sdragon. I could not have done this much research of her past without his help and I am very grateful. The second is Donkeykong75m, who has been one of my strongest supporters. He helped write the majority of this part and helped me to plan out the tone of Eva's back story.


	5. Chapter 5

Scotland, The War of Scottish Independence

During his first years as King, Robert the Bruce knew in order for Scotland to be an independent kingdom, he had to finish what his predecessors started. He had to continue William Wallace's guerrilla wars against the English. This period saw the rise of several brilliant military commanders, mostly from within his own family. His brothers Edward, Alexander, Thomas, and Neil, captured dozens of castles including Linlithgow, Dumbarton, Perth and Rushen.

In the spring of 1314, his family took the famed Sterling Castle, the very same one where William Wallace, better known as Braveheart, established his base while defending from the English. His brothers would take Edinburgh Castle and Roxburg soon afterwards. Once those key fortresses were taken, Robert the Bruce now controlled almost all of Scotland.

With the English finally rid of Scotland, he now concentrated on what was left within. He consolidated his power and sought to remove any obstacles that could potentially undermine his rule. After the defeat of the Cowyns earlier, he had most of their land confiscated and handed to his own family and supporters, leading many outsiders to see as a form of 'kleptocracy.' This was the same with his other rivals, namely Clan Galloway, which controlled the area west of Sterling.

Finally, after two decades of exhausting battles and deliberate refusal to meet the English on even ground, he gained a reputation as one of the great leaders of the age. In May of 1328, King Edward III of England signed the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton, which officially recognized Scotland as an independent kingdom and Bruce himself as king.

Robert the Bruce's success was short lived however. Barely a year later, on June 7th, 1329, he died at a manor in Dumbarton possibly from exhaustion and the stress of almost constant fighting. But even as he passed away, his son, David II, still sought to continue what his father had worked so hard to do. Just three years after Evangeline was born, King David died unexpectedly in 1371 and left Scotland without an heir.

For a brief time, the country held its collective breath as they waited to see who would be their next king. Eventually, a lesser known man was made king by consent of parliament, a man who would be known as Robert II. When he was crowned King of Scots, he was 55 years old. He was heir presumptive to his grandfather, Robert the Bruce, and again under his father, David II.

* * *

Castle McDowell, Eva's Bedroom, 1378

About two years had passed and the war between the Galloways and the King was still raging on. King Robert II had been losing more battles than he won, and it appeared that the Galloways might finally have a chance of winning. They had pushed far into the King's territories and had captured key fortresses and castles in the past years.

This did not stop Robert II from continuing his fight. But his tactics and strategies had become more sloppy and often times, more desperate. In the late winter of 1378, the King sought to cut off the alliance of clans by striking right at the heart of one of the Galloway's main financiers, Castle McDowell.

Eva was awoken with a start by someone pushing at her.

"Milady! I beg you awaken from your sleep! It is an urgent matter!" Charlotte's voice came from somewhere.

Eva opened her eyes, still groggy from being stirred. She could see the sun's rays pouring in, but the light was still faint and very early in the morning.

"What is it Charlotte? Why do you wake me so early?"

"The castle is under siege! Make haste! We must move to a safer location!" Charlotte urged the little girl giving her another slight nudge.

The next few minutes was a blur to Evangeline. She barely had time to grab her mantel before Charlotte started dragging her out of her room and down the corridor. Evangeline could barely take it all in. Her tiny legs could barely keep up with Charlotte's much longer ones as she whisked her down several flights of stairs to the castle's secret underground chambers.

As the two ran through the halls, Eva could see several others running about in the same fashion. She could see several soldiers still dressed in their night clothes and several more trying to strap on bits of armor while trying to run at the same time.

Charlotte stopped suddenly in front of a large tapestry and Eva almost ran into her. Eva was about to ask her why she stopped so suddenly but her mental question was answered when Charlotte walked over to the tapestry, lifted it up and revealed a hidden wooden door behind it.

"What is this? A secret room?" Eva asked.

"Yes, you will be safe here. Quickly now please!" Charlotte said as she grabbed a nearby torch.

She pulled the door open and carefully lead Eva down a flight of stairs. As soon as both were in, Charlotte closed the door behind them and the tapestry fell back in its place.

"Can you explain what is happening now? I am confused and scared now."

"The King has ordered his son to try and take this area by force in order to cripple your parents's rebellion. Anyways, this passageway we are walking though leads to a series of rooms that was used by your ancestors in case something like this happened."

After several minutes of walking on cold stone, they came to another door which Charlotte opened up. Behind were a series of rooms, some of which were lit by torches. Occasionally, there were small windows that allowed some sunlight, and Eva guessed that they were in the lower levels of the castle.

"Do not worry Mistress. I shall stay here with you until this is over. I am sure Lady Athansia will be able to handle defending the castle in your father's stead."

"Mother will fight?"

"Yes she will. She has also been trained in combat and will do fine. You have nothing to worry about. I hope you are not too cold? There should be extra blankets in here somewhere if you are cold."

"One blanket shall be enough, thank you." And with that, Eva curled herself up into a ball with her mantel wrapped around her. Charlotte smiled and went to a nearby closet and inside where several old rags and blankets. She pulled a rather warm one out, walked back to where Eva was curled up and wrapped herself and Eva with the blanket, making sure to cover both their feet.

* * *

Earlier this morning.......

John Steward, Earl of Carrick, rode proudly forward on his steed this morning. He was sure that today would be a great day for him, one where he would claim victory and make his father proud. He was the eldest son of the king, and a renowned military commander of Scotland.

He was currently leading an army straight into the Scottish Lowlands to put an end to the rebellion of the Clan Alliance of the Galloways, MacDougalls and McDowells, who controlled most of the said territories. He was often times overshadowed by his younger siblings, whom seemed to be more in his father's favor than him. If he could succeed in taking Castle McDowell, the alliance would loose one of its main financiers, morale would drop, and rebellion might end in a heartbeat.

"Sir, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, should we not be more concerned with fighting the English and retaking the southern territories?" One of his subordinates whispered to his ear.

"My brother is already taking care of that. My father does not wish to commit the kingdom to another war at this time. We must take care of our adversaries in the meantime."

John Steward arrived on the hill overlooking the castle and town in the early morning. From where he was standing he could make out the McDowell's banners and raven symbol flying over the towers. He had intended to take the castle by a surprise siege and chose to attack earlier in the morning. His army soon arrived after he did. There were rows upon rows of banners, spears, and Scottish Claymores. His supply lines brought up the rear.

The six siege towers he brought along were an impressive sight. They were about three stories tall, were carted on wooden wheels and were shielded with fireproof hides. Combined with his sizable army, this would have been sufficient to take down any castle.

Unfortunately for John, he did not do his homework. Because if he had, he knew that his resources and weapons were not designed to take Castle McDowell. For one, the castle was surrounded on three sides by water so if he wanted to dig a tunnel, it would be in a place that was quite obvious to the enemy. Siege towers were almost useless In the beginning as he had to breach the town's outer wall first before trying to siege the castle. That would take too much time as he would be fighting the villagers, no doubt hardened supporters of their lord.

He also lacked another crucial weapon what was normally needed to siege a castle effectively: trebuchets. Wood was scarce in Scotland, and the ones they did have were already being used by his brother.

That is not to say that John was going quit. He had to take this castle. For his father, and the glory of Scotland. He was surprised to see the outer wall gate wide open. He strode through the town's main street without encountering any opposition. In fact, it seemed as though the whole town was deserted.

He brought the army into a clearing that stood between the castle and the town. He called up to the castle to surrender in a loud voice, "I am John Steward, Earl of Carrick and first son of His Royal Majesty, Robert II. I bid you surrender this castle and I give you my word I will not harm a hair on any one!"

He waited for a few minutes and on the very top parapet stood a woman dressed in armor. He gasped silently to himself as he guessed who this person was.

"I am Lady Athanasia McDowell, I congratulate you for making it this far on your journey. We will not surrender this castle. This fortress has sheltered six generations of my family and we are not about to let it fall into your hands!" She called down with an icy tone that caused several of John Steward's own men to shiver.

"Very well then, prepare for battle!" he called to his men as they readied their arrows.

"Stand your ground men! This castle has never fallen to enemy hands and it certainly will not happen today!" Lady Athanasia shouted to the hundreds of men standing around the parapets. "Archers! Prepare to fire!"

After several minutes of intense standoff, the two commanders ordered their archers to fire. Within seconds, thousands of arrows came flying towards each other in a hailstorm of metal and wood. Both sides took cover under their shields but Steward's side was loosing men already.

"Chaaaarrrgeee!!" Steward shouted at the top of his lungs and his army raced forward with ladders and grappling hooks. His siege towers rolled slowly towards the stone walls soon afterwards.

"Aim your arrows at the base of that siege tower! The armor is weakest there!" Lady Athanasia ordered.

Several of the soldiers to her right nodded and redirected their fire to the base of the siege towers where several men were pushing the wooden behemoth. After several men were down, the tower ceased to move.

"Ladders!" one soldier cried out.

As he did a grappling hook of sorts lached itself on the wall and ladders were being pulled into place with several men already on.

Lady McDowell quickly ordered the men to bring up the forks in order to push them back. Problem was, they didn't have enough forks and their were too many people scaling the walls already.

"Bring the oil! Throw oil and stone on them!" She called as she made her way down the inner wall and towards the outer ward.

"Don't let your guard down men, they have too few to defend!" Steward countered.

Almost half an hour later, several of his men made it on top of the outer wall and started to hack away at the enemy.

"Milady! Watch out behind you!" a soldier called out.

Lady McDowell heard the man, and grabbed for her sword. She spun around quickly and with one clean strike, slashed her attacker right through the stomach. He barely knew what hit him as he bore a look of utter surprise on his face as his body crumpled to the floor in a heap of flesh and blood.

As Lady McDowell began to slash, hack and thrust her way through enemy after enemy, the castle's soldiers and commanders' morale began to rise and they all redoubled their efforts to push the enemy back.

Lady Athanasia let out a battle cry and charged the on coming soldiers. In the ensuing battle, there was a cacophony of metal clashing against metal, grunts and yells. Blood, debris, and arrows were flying everywhere. Behind her, several of her best knights were keeping anyone who got too close to the inner ward away.

Around noon time, it became clear which side was winning. Steward had an uphill battle going for him, literally. Although his army was quite large, he still had to contend with the fact that the castle was perched on the hill and that the wind was starting to shift towards him. Three of his siege towers were out of commission and his morale was starting to drop. If he kept this up too long, his army would be devastated and his father needed all the men he could get if the English started to push northward. He growled to himself as he fought a battle of his own: To retreat and fight another day, or push forward for glory.

"Lord John, we must order a retreat, the castle's inner defenses will not fall. Our enemies are holed up tight in there. We might eventually take the castle with some reinforcements from your brother or try starving the castle out, but that will take weeks at best," one of his commanders reported.

"And father needs the men at this moment." He sighed to himself. His second in command was right, victory and glory at this point was not worth it, not in the long run anyways. He had other plans as well back home. "Very well then. Sound the retreat."

"Retreat! Retreat!"

At the sound of a battle horn, the invading army began to retreat. Steward thought he had made it with the majority of his army still intact, but in fact, Lady McDowell had one last trick up her sleave. As the retreating army made their way through town, they were ambushed by the townsfolk who had hidden themselves up till now. John growled again, picked up his sword and rode and slashed his way forward. Several soldiers who did not retreat fast enough ended up with arrows in their backs as Lady McDowell had them firing until they were over the horizon or out of range. Others got caught in a slaughterhouse as they were sandwiched between the castle and the town.

Lady McDowell smiled proudly to herself and raised her sword high into the clouds in victory.

"That was a well placed surprise milady. I am sure they will not return after that humiliating battle."

"Very good. Clean up the bodies and bury them on the hill behind the castle. Those who died today died with full honors of defending their home."

Downstairs in the cellars, Evangeline and Charlotte both heard the battle horn blow. From the tiny window, they saw the armies retreating and felt it was safe to come out.

"Lady Evangeline, I think it is safe to come out now."

"Very well."

Eva was horrified when she saw her mother,who was just coming back inside.

"Mother! Are you alright? You are covered in blood!"

"Yes I see that, and I thank you for your concern. These wounds are not bad as they can be mended. Remember what happened today as a reminder what you might be up against when you grow older." She added with a rather somber tone. Without another word, she strode back into the castle for a well deserved bath and cleanup.

After seeing her mother direct the castle troops as if it were nothing, Eva felt a renewed respect for Lady McDowell. On the other hand, her mother only showed Eva what it meant to be a ruler and what it took to keep their family and subjects safe. Then that's when it hit Evangeline. She needed to be strong in order to survive. Who knows if and when the King's army might attack again.

Little did the scared Eva know, this was the seed that would eventually sow what she would be known centuries later.

Evangeline however traumatized, was far better off than John Steward.

* * *

Scotland Royal Castle, Audience Chamber

"How dare you fail me like this!" the deep voice of the king rang out in the audience chamber. As his ragtag army and commanders stood behind him in the chamber, they felt tiny indeed next to the King, Robert II. The guards and other personnel that stood beside the king had expressionless faces and showed no sign of sympathy whatsoever.

John Steward kept his head bowed as his father shouted with a raspy but dangerous voice. He had barely gotten out alive, and than half of his men returned with him to the capital.

"Did I not tell you that Castle McDowell was fortified ten times over? Did I not say clearly how crucial it was to the safety of our clan? Right now their morale and support grows all because you failed to take one lousy castle! You ought to be ashamed to be my son!"

"I tried father! The castle was well defended and we did not have the resources to continue the fight! It would have been fatal! If I had......." John Steward tried to protest.

"Silence!" The king yelled and brought his cane on top of his son's head. A loud thud of metal against bone could be heard. A few people winced as John crumpled to the floor. A few gasps could be heard as he struggled to hold back his tears, while the king shed none.

"Take him outside. Fifty lashes on his back!" The king ordered his guards.

At this, an aide stepped forward and bowed. "Please Your Majesty, I beg you reconsider. This man has committed no crime and he is your first son. Do not forget his previous services to the country."

There was a general round of nods and for a minute, the king's face softened, if only a little.

"Very well then. Five lashes then, and if anyone else protests again, they will take my son's place!"

The guards bowed and dragged John Steward out into the courtyard and whipped him. His screams could be heard throughout the whole castle. He couldn't sleep on his back for over a week.

* * *

Castle McDowell, Late Spring, 1378

It was almost summer now and life in the castle began to settle down since the siege. Most of the structural damage had been repaired and trade and businesses were starting to flow again. There was even talk about the Lord coming back home by week's end.

Eva however, was not the same. Rather, she did not go back to being the same person she was before. She redoubled her efforts at her studies. Subjects that she didn't like normally, like mathematics, she found interesting. She tried being more self-sufficient such as washing herself and dressing herself in the mornings rather than have her maid help her, although if Charlotte insisted, Eva did not refuse to let her tie the strings on her corset. Eva also started spending more of her time in the castle's library pouring over stacks of books, anything that would help her grow in power.

That was not to say that Charlotte did not notice these changes. When Charlotte brought the little mistress's breakfast tray, she noticed that Evangeline hardly smiled. Their conversations were not as lively anymore and their relationship had gone from that of a motherly maid, back to a more cut-and-dry master and servant one.

She wasn't one to judge of course, but not seeing the young mistress smile was saddening indeed. Sometimes she would take a peek in Evangeline's room at nights to check up on her, only to find her reading some book with words and glyphs that were indecipherable to her. It was nice to that Eva was working hard now, but at the same time, Charlotte felt that she shouldn't have to sacrifice her childhood or at least her relationships because she felt that her parents were not paying attention to her.

She tried to do what she could to help comfort the little girl, but somewhere it seemed that instead of growing closer, they grew further away.

"Mistress? Your afternoon lessons are about to begin. Sir Vincent is in the library waiting for you. Shall I serve you two something to drink?"

"Just some tea and crumpets please."

* * *

Castle McDowell, Library

Eva found herself staring at the same page of her book for almost five minutes. She had been spacing out as of late. She tried to pull herself back from her trance to her studies but every time she did so, she would simply fall back into her trance.

Sir Vincent noticed that his pupil seemed out of it this morning. This was quite strange as Eva showed high interest and perseverance when it came to her studies.

"Kitty? Eva? Are you alright? What causes your drowsiness so early in the morning?

"It's nothing, I just woke up too early this morning."

"Are you sure? Do you not wish to talk to me? You know I am there for you when you need me."

Eva felt the gap between herself and her mother grow during this time. The two barely talked now and the words exchanged between them were merely cordial at best.

She thought to herself long and hard about what her mother had said to her. She was saddened that all she did was hide while her mother fought fearlessly with her sword a few levels above her. If only she was stronger, perhaps her mother might notice her more........

Eva reluctantly told Sir Vincent her feelings about wanting to be stronger. Sir Vincent had been away on a trip to France as a diplomat to try and force a ceasefire between the English and the Scots.

"Sometimes.........sometimes I get the feeling that.....I am not good enough for them........"

"Now, now Kitty, you must not say such things. I'm sure they love you just as much as you love them."

"Perhaps.....but...I heard and saw what mother had to do that day past, when she had to take charge of the castle's command and fended off the King's armies so quickly......."

"Go on Evangeline, my ears are open."

"Well.......I have been doing some thinking. If I was a little stronger.......perhaps my parents need not work so hard and that.........I might spend more time with them?"

"That is very admirable to be sure."

"Sir Vincent? What do you know of this magic you speak of in your stories? Surely you must have gotten it from somewhere?"

"Why do you ask Kitty?"

"I was wondering if........you could teach me?"

"Magic.........is not real I'm afraid. I cannot teach you even if it existed. And besides, someone as young as yourself need not worry about such things." Sir Vincent said with a heavy heart.

"What?! But what about all those stories you have told me?"

"Just as they are meant to be. Stories of fiction and of a fairytale land. Magic is simply something I like to use because it is quite intriguing, would you not agree?"

Eva nodded and motioned for Sir Vincent to continue.

"Look, I think that the Lord and Lady like you as you are now. You are already studying quite hard and have done more than enough for a girl your age. You could barely pick up a sword and you want to help your mother out. I know how it feels not being able to do anything. I have been there myself."

"You have?"

"Yes, now enough about that, why do we not go back to your studies for now. I have another little story I wish to tell you afterwards."

As Eva resumed her studies, Sir Vincent looked sadly onward. Magic was real. He knew it. He could not tell Eva though. She would not understand. She had enough to worry about as it is.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the late update! I hope you all like this chapter! Please read and review!


	6. Chapter 6

Brief Interlude

Gustav had shown them the castle and its details but did not explain the whys and hows. One person had commented that he thought Scotland was a backwater country during the middle ages.

That was untrue. Gustav explained happily that the castle they were standing in now was a testament to the opposite. He pointed out that the castle had a running water and sewer system and just by its construction proved that Scotland had a much more sophisticated and rich culture than previously thought.

Gustav noted that the castle was quite large and walking through almost half a mile of corridors could wear anyone out. Besides, they had reached the halfway point of their tour and the top of the parapets were a perfect spot for a quick break. The top of the parapets had a spectacular view. Looking down, one could see the layout of the castle and how the buildings were all arranged. On one side was a large, octagonal tower that was the main observation tower for the castle. Next to that was a much larger five story square one, the donjon.

Looking over the parapets there was an archery practice range where tourists could pay a few bucks to practice shooting plastic arrows at some dummies lined up in the outer ward. Castles of that time utilized concentric rings of defense surrounding a keep or central tower. They were designed so the event of an attack, the higher walls could shoot down at the attackers and essentially have two waves of arrow fire.

So while the other tourists were busy taking photographs, Negi and the girls were in deep conversation amongst themselves.

Anya was mostly silent up till now. For one, she wasn't excited about seeing the castle of an enemy. Yes, she still considered Evangeline an enemy and still resented Negi being her apprentice. She had a funny feeling that the Dark Evangel was just using her childhood friend for her own gains. Her silence was soon broken when Nekane asked her a question and she snapped out of her daze to answer her.

"Anya? You've been very quite as of late, is something wrong?" The taller mage asked.

"No.....I'm just.......not really interested I guess...."

"Wah! But don't you find all this interesting around you? I used to love my history classes!" Nekane exclaimed.

"Yeah.......but....this is the place where that vampire grew up......"

"You're still scared of her aren't you?" Nekane asked.

"I........maybe a little......"

"I think she's absolutely adorable! Don't you think so Konoka?" She turned her head and asked the chocolate haired princess.

"You think so too?! Yay! Finally someone agrees with me as well!"

"I know! I just want to pick up and cuddle her! I bet she would be just like Negi!"

Negi looked away to hide a blush, while Asuna stifled a snicker at her teacher.

"You guys are so naïve......" Anya said more to herself than the others.

Although Eva was Anya's size, she was honestly scared to death of her. Of course, it didn't help that she grew up with the Dark Evangel as her boogie man, er woman. Even before she started magic school, her parents would tell her a story of the infamous vampire at least once a month. On one hand, she was delighted by the bedtime stories and on the other, terrified by this monstrosity. Her parents would often talk about a scary vampire that took away little children who did not listen to their parents; took them away to drain them of their blood. As a mage, she would hear stories about how a dark mage with blonde hair could fight and kill several of their best mages, of course that was meant to encourage students to study more.

When she first came inside the glass sphere of Castle Lebens Shuld she was amazed and overwhelmed with awe at the sight. She knew whoever owned the place must have been a super-powerful mage in order to create a semi-mini world. But when she found out who the Master was, she took off like a bullet in the other direction. Every time Eva is around her, she could feel a large amount of dark aura that surrounded the little vampiress, and it made Eva uneasy that there was so much power concentrated in one person.

"I don't think Evangeline is that bad actually. It's not like she was born a vampire and was evil her whole life right?" Nekane asked.

"That's true. From what we've seen so far, she doesn't seem the type to be evil." Konoka added.

"She never talks about herself now that I think about it. During all that training, she only talked about the different points of battling, correcting any tiny mistakes or flaws that we might have, and so on." Setsuna added in smoothly.

"Yeah! She even put me through boot camp and had me stay a week in the arctic sphere of her castle. That was really intense!" Asuna added as well. "I know she can be pretty hard on us but.......I cannot say that I am not grateful either."

"See?! She doesn't even care for your well being! How can you say that's not evil? And didn't she also pit the other girls against us to try and steal those badges?" Anya interjected rather indignantly.

"Wait a sec.........Evangeline was the one who sent Akira and the other sports girls after us like that?" Asuna said, though that was supposed to have been a thought.

"Seems that way. I think she wanted to give us one final test before we departed for the Magic World."

Negi couldn't stand it anymore. Sure he and Evangeline had their differences but he strongly defended her when the need arose. "She really is not that bad! I mean, I've seen her room, and it looks.....normal actually! It didn't look like a vampire lived there at all!"

"Oh ho! You were in her room doing what?!" Asuna cried.

Negi could feel himself embarrassed again, especially when Asuna loomed over him as she was doing now. "It wasn't like that at all, honest! Remember that one day where she didn't show up for class? I decided to confront her for skipping school. It turns out that she was actually sick so I ended up having to play nurse."

"Eva-chan was sick?!" Konoka nearly shouted.

"Yes she was, with a serious fever. Chachamaru had to step out for a while and I had to take care of her. With her lilac pajamas and bed covers, she almost looked like a normal girl. But she really was sick though."

"Oh I see.......I'm surprised she let you go unharmed." Asuna noted.

"Well......not exactly. She......caught me peeping into her dreams." Negi put a hand on the back of his head and blushed slightly in embarrassment.

"Negi! How could you? Even if it is Eva, you shouldn't pry into someone's private life like that! It's the same with reading someone's diary without their explicit permission!" Nekane said, half-scolding the younger Springfield.

"Wah!!!! I'm sorry Nekane! I....I wanted to see what my father was like in the past! She said she had some connection with him in the past. I couldn't help myself. But anyways, I had expected her to be living in a graveyard or something, and when I saw her room, it didn't have like the stuff in the movies; no skulls, candles, dark drapes or anything. Besides, I think Master simply wanted to be stronger because other vampires might have picked on her for being weak."

Nekane sighed. Rarely was she ever angry with her younger brother, or anyone at all. She brushed it aside and continued, "Setsuna, Asuna? What is Eva like from what you've known so far?"

"Not much actually." Setsuna said.

"We don't really talk to her outside of our training. And we've never spoken to each other before Negi became our homeroom teacher." Asuna added. "And anything she say tend to lean towards evil."

"When we do talk, she always talks about battling, not much else. It seems like she can be pretty hard on herself as well as us."

"I wonder if she's the type to be greedy for power? Certainly seems the type." Anya muttered under her breath. However, the others still heard her.

"Well come on! Look at how many abilities she has! She is already a daywalker, the strongest type of vampire, and yet she is also a master of martial arts, swordsmanship and dark magic! Wouldn't you call that greedy?"

There was a silence at first, but Anya could see the wheels turning in the others' heads. She had a point, that Eva, already powerful to begin with, seemed to always want more. At the same time, she never seemed content with herself. She compared it to someone who made eight figures a year and still feels he doesn't make enough.

"Negi? You've shown that your class is full of very talented students."

".....and large breasted ones as well."

"Konoka here for instance happens to be a great cook, good with household chores, a good student and a great fortuneteller. Speaking of which, you and Anya might want to work together or something!"

"Awww! Then it'll be just like working with a younger sister!" Konoka said excitedly and clapped her hands together and smiled one her classic smiles.

"Yes, but.......I guess what I'm trying to say is that she holds on to power a lot because that's the only thing she has going for her."

"Why do you say that?" Anya asked the older Springfield.

"Well, Gustav said that she grew up in a time of war. If she lost her family or something like that, it would be natural for her to like power." Nekane explained her thoughts.

"Perhaps. But if she wanted to protect herself, I doubt she needed that much. I for one think that she made a pact with the devil or some crazy monster or something like that. Fits her personality."

No matter what the others said about the vampire mage, Anya didn't budge. She still felt that Eva was greedy for power because of whatever reason. Although she didn't come off as evil as she thought, that still didn't stop her from being suspicious of her. Now that Eva had all her powers back, she felt more uneasy around her than ever before. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Anya learned that from her history class, and she applied that to Eva.

And if she needed one more reason to hate her, it was because Evangeline's adult form was large-breasted.

But before the others could say anything again, their break was over and the tour group was moving again. The next part of the tour would take them through the castle's private chambers, one of them was the room of a certain young blonde.

* * *

A/N: Thanks again for everyone who has reviewed and read this story so far! I appreciate your support very much!


	7. Chapter 7

Scotland

Robert II became King of the Scots in 1371 and in 1373, ensured the safe progress of his Stewart dynasty by having parliament pass succession entailments which defined the manner by which each of his sons could inherit the crown. He did his best to consolidate his rule and to make himself appear as Robert Bruce's successor. His rule during the 1370s saw the country's finances stabilized and greatly improved thanks in part to the flourishing wool trade, reduced calls on the public purse and then by the halting of his predecessor's ransom money on the death of Edward III of England.

Instead of trying to dominate his nobles like his predecessor, Robert's strategy was to delegate authority to his powerful sons and earls and this, on the whole, worked for the first decade of his reign. For a time, Scotland's political system was stable and led King Robert II to have significant influence over eight of the fifteen earldoms either through his sons directly or by strategic marriages of his daughters to powerful lords.

Despite the country's stabilizing economy, it continued to have English enclaves within its borders. In addition, there were a number of Scots who swore allegiance to the king of England and important castles such as Berwick, Jedburgh, Lochmaben and Roxburgh were English garrisoned. Robert II also had to deal with the rebel clans of McDougall, McDowell and Galloway, who took the opportunity to side with the English.

King Robert II was often described by his predecessor as being a 'tyrant' and one 'being unfit to rule' and weighted down by his age and 'lack of accomplishments and drive.' It was rumored that he kept his predecessor in a prison somewhere, and stole the throne from him. Needless to say, he had created many enemies, one of whom, was his own son.

When Evangeline was about six years old, the clan leaders who controlled much of southern Scotland saw this as a perfect opportunity to strike back. Because her father was the Clan leader, he often had to leave for prolonged periods of time, be it meeting with other clan leaders or off commanding a battle somewhere. Consequently, the little blonde girl grew up without a father figure for most of her childhood. When her father left, her mother was in charge of the castle's affairs and defense. Because of that, her relationship with her parents were shaky, if not distant at best.

As the daughter of a clan leader, much was expected of her, regardless of the fact she was a little girl. What we know as a formal school and education today was highly unusual in Eva's time. Instead she was home schooled by several tutors. She was expected to take a variety of studies including learning Latin and perhaps French, basic mathematics, reading, and writing.

If she had been any other child of nobility, she might have been taught domestic skills such as sewing, weaving and spinning. Instead, her parents knew that if House Bruce should fall, one of their clans would have to take up the throne in the Cowyns' stead. Eva was taught from when she was about five years old to understand how to be a proper princess, one who might eventually be a ruler.

* * *

Castle McDowell, Eva's Bedroom, 1378

Evangeline woke up startled and sweating. She was having the strangest dream, or should we say, nightmare. She dreamed she was an evil monster flying around the night skies cackling in laughter with a voice that wasn't her own. She could vaguely remember her dream self conquering kingdom after kingdom and subjugating millions of people under her rule. She could remember seeing herself torturing a helpless victim all the while showing no mercy to them, be it man, woman or child. She shivered as she saw hundreds, possibly thousands cowering in fear of her and her powers.

She looked out at the window and noticed the sun had yet to rise over the horizon.

Eva pulled off her blankets, crossed over to the nightstand to pour herself some water to drink. As she gulped it down a little more sloppily that she would have liked, she thought to herself, what was that dream about?

The door opened and in popped in Charlotte with a rather worried look on her face.

"Milady! I heard the noise and I came as fast as I could. Why do you scream so loudly as to wake the dead?"

"S-sorry! I-I just........had a bad dream is all."

"I see. Do you wish to talk about it?" Charlotte asked the distraught little girl as she moved to sit next to her.

"No thanks. I-I am fine now."

Charlotte fetched Eva a cup of water and sat back down. Eva was thankful for the water and gulped it down between small gasps. She looked up and caught Charlotte's eyes. Immediately, she felt bad that she had not talked to her more and had shut her out of her life, and quickly looked back down.

Eva took a deep breath, steadied herself a little and said, "Well........I know not how to explain my dream."

"Oh? I'm listening."

She found herself talking again to Charlotte and tried to explain as best as she could her dream. She shivered a little at the thought that she could become so cruel and heartless, and could not make heads or tales of what her dream meant. She was glad that Charlotte took the time to listen and felt that she was on friendly terms again.

"Hmm, I know not what your dream means. It could be nothing at all and your young mistress must be over thinking it. Perhaps it could be a warning?"

"Warning? Whatever do you mean?"

"Maybe about your current experiences? Have you worked too much?"

"I....I do not think so, no. I try to do my part for mother and father."

"Well," Charlotte got up from the bed, "I think it is best that you not think about your dream. I do not think it means much. Now then, why do we not get you dressed? I hear that there is a surprise waiting for you at lunchtime," she said with a warmhearted smile as she helped Eva out of her nightgown and helped tie up her corset and laces.

* * *

Castle McDowell, Great Hall

Lunch was nothing special in the Great Hall, although there was an unusual amount of talk and excitement today. After pushing herself through a whole morning's worth of lessons, Eva was quite relieved to be sitting down for a meal.

"Did you hear the news? I hear that the Lord will be returning this afternoon!"

"No I have not. Does the Lady and young Evangeline know yet?

At the sound of her name, Eva's ears popped wide open and looked up.

"Father's back?"

As if on cue, the sound of a triumphant bugle blared out from somewhere.

Evangeline could hardly believe her ears much less her luck. The only time that bugle was played was to announce the arrival of an important guest. Before she knew what was going on, many people rushed out of the hall, some with their plates still full, to see who was there at the front gate.

Eva finished chewing her food and quickly followed the others outside into the courtyard. Sure enough, her father came through the castle gates with an entourage of people. It had been a while since she last saw her father and he made a grand entrance. He strode proudly on his steed, and was dressed in full armor and mantel. He had on a faint smile, one that carried reassurance and authority. As he made his way into the main courtyard, he was greeted by several cheers and applause.

Lord McDowell climbed off his horse, which was led away by a servant to the stables. A couple more servants came forward to help the lord out of his armor. As the McDowell started to unbuckle the several straps that held his armor together, several people came up to him and started asking him questions.

"How is excellency doing today sire?" asked the Master-at-arms

"What news from the front? How are we faring against the King?" asked a soldier.

"How goeth the meeting of the other Lords sire?" Asked another dignitary.

"Please, one at a time. I shall answer all your questions in due time. For now, I wish to have a meal with my daughter. Ah there she is now!" he glanced over at Evangeline who was standing behind a pillar.

Eva saw her father beckon her over and she walked slowly towards him. He knelt down and gave her a small hug.

"My word, you have grown much since I last saw you. How have you been?"

"I have been doing well father. My tutors are saying I am progressing fast in my studies."

Her father stood up and motioned for Eva to follow him back to the Great Hall. Another servant came by with a bowl of water and a few cloths to help clean the Lord up for lunch. Soon, everyone else made their way back inside as well to their half-finished food and continued eating, despite the fact their food had gone slightly cold.

Evangeline took her seat next to her father and she was surprised to find her mother sitting at the table already. After a quick embrace and kiss, her parents sat back down in their seats. As the Lord waited for his food to arrive, several dignitaries sat down near him or stood behind him to hear him speak about his travels.

Evangeline too wanted to know what her father had been up to and why. She tried to listen in as she continued eating.

"Is it true that the King refuses to help the Lowland provinces?" asked one standing behind him.

Lord McDowell took a breath and began to speak. "Aye, the King does not seem to care for us much these days. He is too concerned with the northern Gaelic tribes as of late. He was born and raised from those lands I heard."

"He has also allowed our southern cousins to fall victim to those filthy English. Why just a few moons past, I heard the English has recaptured a few of the castles near the border!" one of his advisors added.

"How does Lord McDougall fare in these trying times? I hope he is well?"

"He is. McDougall had his share of fighting but has done well against the king's forces nonetheless. As it stands now, it seems he is trying to muster support from the surrounding areas and clans after his recent victories. Another piece of good news is that a peace treaty has been signed between the King, France and England. Hopefully, that will give us a break for the time being."

There was a round of nods and the consensus was that the tide of the war was finally turning in their favor. Robert II had made too many enemies and had already spread his forces too thinly to consolidate his rule. It was only a matter of time before the English pushed forward and that was McDougall's chance to reclaim the throne for the Cowyn's sake.

"So he is unfit to rule?" Eva suddenly piped up. Several heads turned to the young girl, some in bewilderment, others in admiration.

"A king who does not protect his subjects is worst than the lowest of servants. That is the duty of being a ruler, Evangeline." He saw her face fall a little and immediately added, "Though it will be a long time before you will be. I am surprised you followed along."

"I try to. I wish to understand why is it you fight so much."

Her father laughed in admiration and said, "Well after that siege I think I shall be staying here more often lest an attack like that comes again. Like I said, the McDougall's are handling affairs quite well and our ally clans are also faring better than a few years ago. This war is almost done and hopefully in two or three years time, we will finally be rid of the King and the throne will be back in the hands of those who rightfully earned it. And now, I would like to delve into my lunch, I am quite hungry."

During his monologue, the Lord's food came and he invited Evangeline to stay and keep him company as a good portion of the hall was empty as most of the people went back to their chores and work. Evangeline was more than happy to sit next to her father's side and watch him eat. Meals were so much better when your parents were there to enjoy it with you.

* * *

Castle McDowell, Summer time, 1378

The summer season was arguably the best time Eva had had in a long time. With her father back, he allowed Eva outside of the castle more despite Lady McDowell's protests. For the first time in many years, Eva found herself smiling more often than frowning. Things were finally settling down it seemed. The first piece of good news was that the King had negotiated a temporary ceasefire with the McDougalls and their allies and they had a bit of time to regroup and take a breath.

The second piece of good news was that her father would be staying for a while as meetings were being held at her castle instead of someone else's. Things finally seemed to be going as they should.

In the mornings, Charlotte's came in to bring the young mistress her breakfast and tea. Eva found herself being more open and relaxed again with Charlotte, something she wasn't able to do for a while. She found herself doing activities not related to her studies or her social etiquette training such as horseback riding, making bouquets of flowers to liven up the castle's otherwise dank and musty interior, she even found herself talking to the other kids in town, again something she was not able to do when she was couped up in the castle. With permission from Lord McDowell, Sir Vincent was charged with Evangeline's care on outings to town.

At the same time, Eva found herself getting sicker. She found herself coughing as her throat became irritated. At first she felt it was merely allergies to the pollen or hay fever, nothing too serious and nothing that could not be cured.

"Sir Vincent! Sir Vincent!" the little girl called from the field.

"What is it Evangeline?"

"It is done! My flower wreath!"

She held up her recently finished project up for Sir Vincent to see.

"A wreath of lilacs? I must say that is absolutely wonderful. I am sure the Lady McDowell will appreciate it very much."

_Cough cough. _"You think so? I...I feel that I did not do the best job on this one....and......I feel that mother may not accept it."

"Nonsense Evangeline. You really must stop being so uptight about your parents. I am sure she will accept anything you make for her."

"Ah, alright then." _Cough cough. _She placed the wreath carefully in a little basket she had brought along with her. "What shall we do now? The sun is still high in the sky."

"Perhaps we might have a look around town? I think all this pollen is.....is.....Achooo!" Sir Vincent let out a loud sneeze and sniffled. "...is getting to you. Heh, it looks like it is getting to me as well."

Eva picked up her basket and walked with Vincent towards town. They did not talk much, and Sir Vincent tried to convince Eva to take it easy.

Sir Vincent noticed her coughing and knew of its potential effects. After tutoring her Latin and French for close to three years now, he had a bond of sorts with her, though he wasn't sure how to explain something this sensitive to her, or if he should even explain it to her. He knew that if she didn't get proper treatment or medicine soon, her life could be in danger.

When he was younger, his parents often spoke of "the black death" and how it had swept through Europe a few years before he was born. It was often said that the victims of the black death had lunch with their relatives and dinner with their ancestors. He went to great lengths to find a cure for this disease and notice the symptoms but had yet to find a full cure. Although he was not completely sure, Eva seemed to have the light symptoms of the black death. He did find a way to avoid dying from the plague, or any other diseases for that matter, but the price he paid was higher than any ordinary medicine.

He knew many secrets and knew more than he led others to believe. He had to do so if he wanted to live, although his life was more of a half-life than anything else.

* * *

Castle McDowell, Winter 1378

The winter season had just begun and Scotland was covered in a thin blanket of snow. In the afternoon, the snow normally just melted away.

Evangeline was a bit disappointed now that she could not go outside the castle much again. Her father called in a doctor to check up on her regularly. He confirmed that Eva's cough was neither serious nor contagious. However, Eva needed more rest and some medicine. As to what caused this cough, the doctor said it could have been caused by stress or overwork, and the body not being able to fight off a simple flu or hay fever.

So once again, Eva was confined to the castle. She had once again become a prisoner within her own home. However, she was able to spend more time with her father and the people she enjoyed being around with. She was able to talk more and do activities with her father, whom she had not seen for a while. He might choose to read a book to her at night, or take her outside the castle and look around town. With the middle of winter just around the corner, although the air around the castle had gotten thicker, the air inside the castle had gotten lighter. It would be Eva's tenth birthday soon and the overall mood had relaxed.

"How do the preparations for the party go?" Lord McDowell inquired one of the servants.

"They are going well sire. I am sure the young mistress would be very happy indeed despite her condition."

"Excellent! Please carry on with your work."

"So the young Lady Evangeline is turning ten next week?" said a voice from behind the Lord. He turned around to see Sir Vincent standing behind him with a faint smile.

"Aye, that is correct Sir Vincent. Though I am afraid......that she might not have the happiest tenth birthday. I just spoke with the doctor again, and.....I am afraid that the illness may be worse than expected."

"How bad is it milord?"

He took a breath and looked crestfallen. "Bad enough that she may die."

Vincent had to hold back a scream. "And when were you going to tell her? I do not suppose you intend to hide the truth from her?" He had to do his best to restrain himself from lunging at the lord. Needless to say Lord McDowell could detect the indignant tone in Sir Vincent.

"I do not wish to trouble her is all. I wish only for her to be happy. I am afraid the truth might take away that happiness."

"I........I see. Is there no cure? No treatment of any kind?"

"Not that I know of. If there is a cure, I would pay any price for it. My men are searching for a cure as we speak, but there is little hope that they will find one in time. For now, let us work together to give her the best time of her life. She deserves that much. Would you not agree?"

Vincent nodded, "Yes I do."

* * *

The day before Evangeline's birthday was one of the most lively the castle had seen in a while. Everyone was busy helping to prepare. The cooks were baking all Evangeline's favorite foods, the castle maids were busy cleaning up the castle and making it as lively as possible.

Even Lady McDowell was helping to direct the maids to make sure everything was going smoothly and for once did not seem to care that there was a war going on and wanted Eva to behave like a normal little girl for once. Sir Vincent himself would be staying at the castle as well, since he knew Eva was happy with him around. Plus the Lord personally invited him to stay and with winter fast coming around, getting caught in a blizzard would be stupid.

"Wow! Everything looks so great! And you even made sure to pick fresh lilacs! That is quite thoughtful of you!" the little girl exclaimed as she walked around the castle.

"Yes it is young mistress. Tomorrow is your special day after all." Charlotte said to her as she finished her lunch.

"Would it be possible for me to see the town again?"

"I suppose you can, why do you not take Sir Vincent with you again?"

Evangeline found Vincent and dragged him to town. Vincent did not mind as he still had not purchased her gift and wished to find something. There were not many people out as the weather was starting to get really cold, but those who were out were dressed in heavy mantels or coats. As the two walked around town Evangeline seemed to blend in with the other children. She was not acting stiff nor was she gloomy. She was even socializing with the other kids in town as he kept a watchful eye on her.

It was late in the afternoon and both Sir Vincent and Eva were getting tired. Eva coughed a little and her eyes started to drift off.

"Kitty? Are you alright?" Sir Vincent tried to see why Evangeline looked like she was spacing out.

Evangeline felt dizzy for some reason. She rubbed her head to massage it a little. She continued to walk and staggered a little. Her eyelids felt heavy and her vision was beginning to get blurry. She wanted to stay awake, but could not. She had another bout of coughs and before she knew it, all had gone black and she collapsed to the ground with a small thud.

"Evangeline!" Vincent screamed and rushed over to try and wake her. After several minutes of calling her name out, he gave up and scooped her in her arms and ran as fast as he could back to the castle. As soon as he entered the main gate, several people started swarming him bombarding him with questions about what happened. He told them to get out of his way and carried her all the way up four flights of stairs, down the hall and quickly laid her down on her four-poster bed. After covering her up with her blanket, he rushed back downstairs to find the Lord and got him to call the doctor.

She was put to bed early and after being prodded up for a light dinner. The servants allowed her to go back to sleep. Her parents, servants and Sir Vincent all took turns watching her.

Vincent was angered by this. How could this happen to her like this? She had done nothing wrong, and her father was keeping a crucial secret from her that pertained to her life. He sighed to himself knowing he himself had no room to talk. He could still remember a few years back when he had soldiers and assassins chasing him, and he pondered whether his decision to seek sanctuary in Scotland would benefit him. He turned to look at the sleeping girl and smiled a faint smile.

There was a knock on the door and Vincent opened it. It was Eva's personal maid, Charlotte.

"I apologize for my intrusion. How is the young mistress?"

"She is asleep for now. She has been coughing a little, but I am afraid that it will only get worse. What is she like when she's around you? I hear you are quite close to young Evangeline."

"That I am. She works very hard to impress her parents. I think she feels the need to be strong in this day and age. I do not often get to confide in others this information."

"Ah if only she had been born under different circumstances. Then perhaps she need never be this way. There may be a way to cure her illness."

This seemed to satisfy the young maid as she gave him an amused smile. "She can be very mischievous at times, running around and hiding somewhere until I could find her. But I would rather see her running around with a smile on her face than being bedridden with some unknown sickness. If there was a way, I would offer my life in exchange for hers."

"Why is that? You musn't say such things…if Evangeline heard you....."

"I thank you for, good ser, but I owe it to her family for taking me in. My parents were killed when I was quite young by the previous king. They decided to take me in under their wing because we shared a common hatred. Tomorrow is her tenth birthday, and yet, death is already breathing down on her neck."

She looked back at Evangeline with a tearful gaze then looked back at Vincent.

"You say you may know how to cure her illness? Then by all means, please do so!"

Sir Vincent sighed again and said, "It is not that simple. There are........other complications at work. If it were that simple, I would have cured her a while ago."

"Other complications?"

"Yes, I am not sure of the details, but I do know that although her body will be able to fight the illness, in exchange she would be living a cursed life."

"Oh I........I see......so she would either die now from an illness, or be forced to live a cursed life? God really doth jest at her."

"Then damn him! She should not be like this! She should be able to live her life in full and enjoy it just like the rest of us!"

The young man turned to look at her sleeping form again as she shifted in bed.

"I know it is hard. But for now, we can only pray and hope she gets better." She took one last look at Evangeline and left the room.

"Evangeline…"

That night, Sir Vincent stayed up longer than he should have. He was fighting an internal battle of whether or not to save Eva using his method. He couldn't sit or stand in one position for more than a few minutes. He was currently pacing around in circles around his chamber, the room dimly lit with only a few candles. Just a few minutes ago, he was sitting in a chair cross legged, and a few minutes before that, lying on the bed. He had been thinking about this for quite some time now, ever since he first noticed Eva's change in condition. Depending on what he did, he could change Eva's life for better or worse. Either way, he knew that he could not just stand around and do nothing while he witnessed a little girl in front of him suffer.

* * *

Castle McDowell, Eva's Bedroom 1378

Evangeline woke up with a bad taste in her mouth. Literally.

"Wha-what is this?!" She stammered.

As her eyes adjusted to the still dim light, she found herself not in her bed, but by the window seat. She looked around and nearly screamed at what she saw in front of her.

A dead body, crumpled on the stone floor, its limbs pointing in all directions.

Blood. Lots of blood. On the floor. In her room. As her eyes moved down to her hands, she saw more blood.

Her eyes widened and she nearly jumped back at the shock.

Evangeline, still in her nightgown, found herself shivering, and that had little to do with the morning cold.

Her still developing mind was racing with a hundred thoughts and just as many questions began popping in that she felt her head would explode.

_Why is there a dead body in my room? _

_Why do I have blood on my hands? _

_Did she kill him? _

_What should I do? _

_What would my parents say about this? _

_Why was I out of my bed and don't remember it? _

_What should I do? _

Eva tried to calm herself and think what had happened. She couldn't remember getting up out of her bed and as she got a closer look, she recognized it as one of the servants. Since there was no one else besides her and the blood was still warm, she came to the scary conclusion that something had taken her being over and that at any given moment, she might kill the next person who came through the door.

Her pale skin nearly turned white at the thought of who the next person would be. It could be another servant, her favorite Vincent, it could even be her parents wanting to check up on her.

No! She couldn't take that chance. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she did.

Before she could think another thought, she found her tiny legs running through the castle. It was still early in the morning, and only a few people would be up now.

She ran down the stairs and through the gatehouse.

She ran right down the causeway that connected the entrance of the castle to the town.

She ran through town and up the hills surrounding the castle.

She stumbled a bit over a rock, but kept running and running.

She didn't care that there was a layer of snow on the ground and that she had forgotten to wear her leggings and boots. She didn't care that she was still wearing her nightgown and that her body was shivering in the cold.

Not once did she turn her head to look back. Not once did she think about the life she had just abandoned. And not once did she think about the next set of crazy turns her life was about to take.

She kept running, the flowers and trees were just a blur in her eyes.

As she ran, tears started streaming down her eyes. They stung in the cold morning but she could care less now. She was so sorry that she had to leave home like that without saying goodbye, without ever so much as leaving a note nor receiving a hug or kiss from her parents. She was sorry that she could not live up to her parent's expectations as the heir to the family name.

She kept running for what seemed like hours and by the time the sun was high in the sky, she had almost reached Edinburgh. Eva could see the city off in the distance and stopped for a break. She didn't seem tired for some reason even though she had crossed Scotland just like that.

She stopped running and walked over to a nearby tree and sat down with her back against the trunk. She needed time to think, to organize her thoughts. So much had happened within the last few hours.

She was alone now. The only person that she could depend on was herself. There wasn't anyone else who could help her. And if anyone found out she was a McDowell, depending on who it was could even be an enemy. She could trust no one for the time being. There was much fighting going on already and she was not about to be trapped in between it, not again.

As she thought some more, she just remembered something. It was her tenth birthday today, and there was nobody around to celebrate it with her.

She covered her eyes and started to cry again.

_Why did this happen to me? _Was all she could think about.

* * *

Please read and review! I thank everyone who has reviewed and has stuck with this story so far.


	8. Chapter 8

Scotland

King Robert II would reign from 1371 to 1390. A few years prior, the king was almost ousted by a coup led by his own disgruntled first son, John Steward, Earl of Carrick. The coup was unsuccessful, and his relationship grew worse, while his brother's relationship with his father grew better. His younger brother, Robert, Earl of Fife, was made Guardian of Scotland, a few years into their father's reign, and that title was normally passed to the crown prince. He was also Duke of Albany and held the position of High Chamberlain of Scotland, the third highest position in Scotland at that time.

The Great Chamberlain was one of three 'Great Officers of State' and had jurisdiction for judging of all crimes committed within burgh, and of the crime of forestalling. He was a supreme judge and his decrees could not be questioned by any inferior judicatory. He duties also consisted of collecting revenues of the Crown, before Scotland had a formal treasurer.

This led to a great rivalry between the two brothers and the two sought to outdo one another to impress their father, the king. In March of 1390, Robert II returned to Dundonald Castle, from a tour of the northeastern provinces where he died on April 19th, and was buried at Scone. The crown passed to John Steward, who would later be known as Robert III. He was only a nominal king at most, as the real power still rested in the hands of his brother.

Robert III's reign continued more or less the same policies as his father. One major difference was that he was more hard line against the English and was more of tyrant than his father was reported to have been. He was good on the battlefield. He understood tactics, warfare and swordsmanship. But he simply was not meant to rule.

In 1399, Robert III began to fear for the fate of his only surviving son, James who was only 11 years old. In February of 1406, James was taken in secrecy to Dirleton Castle to be ferried off to France. Robert of Fife received word of this and sent a large force after the Crown Prince James. A battle was fought nearby, and James was put in a rowing boat and ferried to a tiny, windswept, rocky island called Bass Rock. The 11-year-old heir to the throne and his guardians were left for a month on the tiny island before a ship arrived trying to bring James to France.

Robert of Fife informed the English King, who arranged for the ship's interception. In a heartbeat, James became a prisoner of the King of England and when Robert III heard of James's capture, he became even more depressed and allegedly died from grief over the capture of his son. In his dying days, Robert III asked to be buried under a dunghill with the epitaph: _Here lies the worst of Kings and the most miserable of men_. He was not interred at Scone, the traditional burial ground of the Scottish Kings, as he did not consider himself worthy of the honor.

* * *

Scotland, 1381

For the next several years, Evangeline had to fend for herself. Many things about her had changed ever so slowly. Her once innocent smile and selfless desire to be recognized by her parents began to disappear.

Over time, she began to trust no one except herself. She no longer knew who was her enemy and who was her ally, and in her weakened state, she could not take that risk. One night, after several days of traveling, she found herself taking shelter in the attic of an old barn. She needed to clear her mind to think back to how she was turned into a monster that got burned by mere sunlight.

Until now, she had been merely trying to survive. She had to take numerous odd jobs and tasks to earn money. Other times, she had to resort to pickpocketing to take what she needed. Although she later realized that she no longer felt hungry, she could never get over her thirst. At first, she thought she wasn't drinking enough water, but when she would pass by somebody with a cut, she could not hold back the urge to suck what looked to be a sweet and life-giving liquid.

She got her first real taste of blood when she decided to end the misery of a homeless man. His blood was not the best tasting thing she tasted, but as the first few drops entered her awaiting and parched throat, she couldn't control her desire to drink more blood and ended up draining the poor man completely. After realizing what she did, Evangeline was so shocked that she did this and ran off crying to herself. The poor girl was not used to taking the life of another being.

She thought back to possible enemies of her family. She thought back to possible candidates who appeared to have some knowledge of magic and the outside world. While she herself may not have had enemies, her father certainly did. She could list John Steward as one of her possible assailants, but he was driven back by her mother. It could have been an English associate, but that did not make sense either as she doubted any of them knew her or her father.

She decided to go outside the box and think about the people closest to her. The castle was well guarded and the only way her assailant could have gotten through, would have been a quiet, covert operation. Her mind went through a list of people, from the guards to the maids, and finally.........

"Sir Vincent."

Her mind had settled on her old Latin tutor. She thought through this carefully. He was relatively new to her life, and he seemed to pop out of nowhere a few years ago. She remembered him mentioning something about magic and seemed that he was the only one who be able to understand what has happened to her. Whether or not he was the culprit who turned her into a monster was still questionable, but she did not know of anyone else who might be able to help her. It was either that, or he was working undercover for an enemy, which would have made it possible for him to infiltrate the castle.

She thought it through some more until her eyelids began to feel heavy and she drifted off to sleep out of exhaustion of several days of travel and no sleep. As she laid curled up in the barn, she cried to herself.

* * *

She was educated to be a proper princess, and did not know many of life's basic skills. That changed as she had nothing to go on except her wit that she inherited from her mother. She inherited many traits from her mother. Her looks, her wit and her strong desire for battle and thirst for blood. Oddly enough, she was closer to her father, whom she inherited his piercing green eyes from. While she lived a strict life as a princess, and was taught to read and write, none of her studies taught her how to survive in the outside world of the medieval age.

When she woke up, there was one thing on her mind and one thing only. Revenge. Revenge on the person who turned her into this monstrosity. She did not care for what she ate; she never felt hungry anymore for that matter. She did not care who she had to hurt or kill in order to bring her closer to her goal.

That morning, she was tracking down a man whom she believed had information about this magic. She had been following him all morning, discreetly of course, as he was carrying a book under his arm with odd inscriptions and designs. She needed information on her condition. She needed to find out what she was now and what could possibly harm her. She had heard from others something about black magic and that was about as good a start as any. The man was thought to be a mage, and in this time, his abilities were often frowned upon. As he walked through the windy street, he felt he was being followed.

He suddenly started to run, but Evangeline was quick to follow. As he turned a corner down an alleyway, he seemed to have vanished into thin air. Eva lost him but found something on the ground that belonged to him. As she picked up the book and started flipping through the pages, she was surprised that she could read it. It was written in Latin, the same language that the Church used, kind of ironic she thought as something caught her eye. She flipped back towards the front of the book and read over a page that looked promising. She grinned as she read a basic spell.

A tiny ball of energy appeared in her hand. She snapped her fingers and the ball of energy got larger. She savored the moment, of holding energy in the palm of her hand. Although this was new to her, she could not help but revel in this new feeling of strength and power. Just a few years ago, she had been a weak and helpless girl who barely knew how to defend herself, but now......she had power, and she enjoyed the feeling of energy coursing through her veins.

At last she found some use from her studies in Latin. She could learn and cast magic quite easily with it. She closed the book and put it in a ragged bag she carried around with her. Later on, she would build up a giant collection of books of this type. Anything from dark magic, to ancient tomes of curses and legends, to history books of famous peoples and nations, she kept carefully hidden. She wanted to learn all there was about magic. She wanted to learn. She wanted more knowledge. It was like an addiction.

And she only wanted more.

* * *

Scotland, 1385

Although Vincent missed his chance to kill Lord McDowell, he had left an undeniable mark. If word got out that his only daughter was a vampire, the clan's reputation, as well as the Lord McDowell himself would be in ruins. Vincent would only need to show that the Lord was hiding this secret from the other clans and hopefully the others will support the House of Steward.

But he was saddened in a way. He had to bite her in order to save her. He had traveled far and wide and knew a thing or two about diseases and illnesses. Eva's cough was nothing ordinary, he knew that well.

Vincent himself was a........different type of person. Although he didn't know all the details, he knew his kind could heal faster than humans and could fight off sicknesses of any kind.

No matter, at least he wasn't going back empty-handed. He paused for a moment outside the Steward's stronghold. He took a deep breath and asked the guards to let him in. As he walked forward towards the aging King Robert II, he thought about his own life and what he was going to do with it from now on. He had been drifting from place to place, country to country, before Robert II took him in. He owed the King a favor, and until that task was complete, he was merely a servant of the King.

"You have returned then Vincent? I hope you have something for me?"

"Aye, Lord McDowell's only daughter has been turned into a monster. He himself cannot bare to hear what happened to her, and will eventually die of grief, same with the Lady. As the word spreads, many will flock to you. His reputation is done for.

"I see, not quite what I wanted, but it is still something. Better than my useless son, John." the king noted.

"It is done my Lord. Now how about letting me go?"

* * *

Kingdom of France, 1386

Her travels had taken Evangeline across the English Channel and into the Kingdom of France. Not only did she feel that she would learn more about magic on the mainland, she felt that she needed to get away from her home country for a while.

For the next several years, Eva honed her powers and abilities and pushed them far beyond what any living creature was capable of. First she perfected her vampire abilities, like regeneration, flight, and the art of sucking blood out of a victim. She needed to be strong first before pursuing her enemy. Who knows how strong he actually was and who might she encounter on her journey.

Although the average vampire was already considered stronger than humans in many aspects, they still had their weaknesses. Naturally, Eva loathed the fact that her kind could be burned by sunlight.

When she read in one of many volumes that humans who have turned into vampires were the lowest of their kind on the caste system, Eva was furious. She would have to be better, stronger. She hated being weak and looked down upon. She hated that she could do nothing for her parents and was confined to her castle. She hated not being powerful.

She would spend hours upon hours reading into the night, reading spells in languages that did could barely understand, just so she could be at the top of the vampire caste system. She had yet to meet another one of her kind, but she knew that if she did, she had to be prepared. She would only pause when she felt tired.

She spent much of her time traveling around Europe, and subsequently witnessed many battles and wars.

She began to understand more and more that it was the strong who survive in this world. It was the Lords and the Monarchs who had the luxury of staying behind their castle walls while their armies, their pawns if you will took the brunt of the fighting. And when all was said and done, who benefited from these wars? The country's leaders of course.

If she was to survive, she would have to be on top. She would have to climb the long ladder up the food chain to claim the top spot.

The climb to be the best was not easy for the little vampire.

On occasion, she would still feel a pang of loneliness and longing. Sometimes at night, when she might be sleeping on a pile of straw in an attic or a stable somewhere, she would long for the comfort of her own castle that she left behind years ago. Sometimes when she laid curled up in a ball, shivering in the cold night air, she wanted nothing more than for her parents to tuck her in, perhaps sing a lullaby to her and hear the two simple words, 'good night.'

She missed her favorite servant, and her calm smile when she came in every morning to bring her breakfast and helped her dress for the morning. She missed that she was able to talk to someone about her grievances and troubles, but deep down, she knew that being stuck in the past would not help her cause. She needed to move forward and continue along this path that she was given.

After becoming a Shinso, or High Daywalker, she was content......for a little while.

Along her travels she also met many mages and after seeing them perform spells and magic, she too wanted to learn.

Evangeline looked and read through several books on magic but none she liked nor she felt was powerful enough. The only type that came close was ice magic.

Eventually, she would come to create her own new brand of magic, Magica Erebea. It was a powerful type of magic, one designed to use an opponent's own strength against them.

As the little vampire mage's power grew to staggering amounts, so did her reputation. She would grow to acquire over twenty nicknames, each would strike fear into the hearts of man just by mentioning them.

She would settle for nothing less than perfection.

* * *

Holy Roman Empire, 1398

She was following a lead for quite some time now. Evangeline had been living in France prior, but now was on the move to the Holy Roman Empire, a conglomeration of many smaller kingdoms, duchies and cities.

She was many miles away from her home in Scotland, and her twenty year quest for revenge had taken her to this foreign land. She was grateful that when she started speaking Latin, she was able to communicate with the locals even though many areas spoke various Slavic and German dialects. She was following Sir Vincent's path and a trail he left behind. She followed his name from various inns he's lived in, to people who knew him and from various other contacts and the such.

He was close. So very close. She could almost taste his blood on her lips as she inched ever closer to her goal. Sadly though, someone else would beat her to it.

Sir Vincent himself continued with his travels for many more years. But he knew that the end would be coming sooner or later for him. He although he still looked to be in his late twenties, he was actually much, much older. He was already outliving his own lifetime, and he had a gut feeling that his life would end soon. He did not mind though. He knew that as long as he lived, he had to bear the responsibilities of those he killed, and lives ruined, such as Evangeline's.

One day, on a regular day when he was had just came home from an errand, he found himself face to face with an old enemy: a bounty hunter he met in France many years ago. He had been following him for many years and his past had finally got up with him it seemed.

"So we meet again Jean. I praise you for following all this time," Sir Vincent said.

"And today will be our last meeting. I am going to kill you right here, right now!" the hunter named Jean said.

"Whatever, I have committed horrible sins in the past, I can admit that. It's about time that I face the past."

As the hunter thrust his wooden stake straight at his heart, he did not even bother to defend himself. He felt his life draining from him as he slumped back against the wall, but to him, it was a sweet release from this world and his sins. His only regret now was that he could not see that little blonde girl and apologize for what he has done.

* * *

Holy Roman Empire, 1398

Eva woke up sweating and panting from her makeshift straw bed. Her current residence was in an attic of a storekeeper in southern provinces of the Holy Roman Empire. She never stayed in the same place for more than a few years, lest someone find out that she did not age. She had just survived a burning at the stake, which anyone would consider a horrifying experience, but for Eva, she merely brushed it off with a laugh.

Her eyes were feeling a little dry and she walked over to a rather beaten-up chest of drawers that the owners downstairs had left up there. She washed her face from the basin and looked up at her reflection in a dusty, old mirror.

At first glance she looked the same as she had on that fateful day years ago. But upon closer inspection, she saw something she didn't see before. For one, her eyes seemed to be much deeper and had a slightly dead, hollowed out sort of look. As she thought back, she didn't even recognize herself anymore.

Twenty years of being undead had changed her. She no longer flinched at the sight of blood. In fact she _enjoyed_ the deep red liquid where ever it flowed. Ah how she would love to see the rivers of Europe soaked with the blood of armies so that she may drink it.

Gone was the weak, little girl she once was.

Gone were traces of her innocence.

Now there was only evil and power all wrapped up in the guise of a little girl.

She stared at her reflection for several more minutes and an evil smile crept up on her face. She could still remember when she was human girl, she was educated and trained so that she might be a ruler one day. Ironically, it came true, though maybe not as her parents had envisioned it.

She was a ruler. And her realm would extend far greater than what her father owned. And centuries later, she would grow to be come the strongest, most powerful vampire the world has ever seen, and her dark realm would span the globe.

She had finally caught up with Sir Vincent, only to find that he himself was killed. Needless to say, she was furious.

Her mind had a familiar feeling of having a dozen feelings and thoughts being jammed in.

She felt anger mostly. Anger because she worked this hard only to loose the satisfaction of being able to kill him.

Betrayal as the person who she felt related to her the most is now gone.

But now a new feeling began to creep into her. Emptiness.

She felt an emptiness starting to form inside of her. After all this time she worked to be strong, someone else had beat her to the kill.

She began to think about what she would do from now on. There was no one left now that she could turn to. She realized after seeing all the bloodshed and wars that have been fought across the countrysides that she grew up in a sheltered life, closed off from the outside world. But now that she had experienced, often times first hand the troubles and horrors of the real world, her thought pattern began to change.

She was a vampire now, a monster in the eyes of humans. No matter what she did to fit in, she didn't belong with them anymore.

What did she have going for her? She thought to herself.

_Power. _

Yes that's it, she had survived this long because she was strong and stronger yet she needed to become. She would show those humans what it meant to live a life of pain and loneliness. She would show the whole world her might and strength. She would not stop until every man, woman and child, begged for their lives at her mercy. Yes, the very thought of having the whole world bow before you was tasty indeed. She toyed with the idea some more and the more she thought about it, the more she began to like it.

And the more she thought about what she would do, the more a sort of dark aura began enveloping the little blonde vampire.

She set a goal for herself. To be the strongest and most powerful vampire the world has ever seen. Her power would dwarf other vampires.

She found herself grinning, an evil grin that grew wider and wider the more evil thoughts she acquired. Eva was going to acquire more power than any being should. She was going to be the strongest and no one was or could stop her. Hundreds of years later, even the famed Thousand Master who trapped her in a Japanese School for girls, could not beat her. Her power had grown far too much.

After all, power was the only thing she had left in this world.

* * *

Epilogue of the Past

Although the reign of Robert II and Robert III was controversial at best, they left behind an undeniable mark on the history of Scotland, as well as the British Isles as a whole. With the death of David II, Robert II founded a new house, the House of Steward. Steward, more often rendered as Stuart, became one of the most influential houses in all the British Isles for centuries to come.

In total, nine Stuart monarchs ruled just Scotland from 1371 until 1603. After this there was a Union of the Crowns under King James VI and I who had become the senior genealogical claimant to all of the holdings of the extinct House of Tudor. Thus there were five Stuart monarchs who ruled both England and Scotland as well as Ireland. Additionally at the foundation of the Kingdom of Great Britain after the Acts of Union in 1707, which united the crowns of England and Scotland.

During the reign of the Stuarts, Scotland developed from a relatively poor and feudal country into a prosperous, fairly modern and centralized state. They ruled during a time in European history of transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Monarchs such as James IV were known for sponsoring famous poets and writers such as Robert Henryson. After gaining control of all of Great Britain, the arts and science departments continued to develop. During this time, William Shakespeare, who would later become one of English literature's greatest figures, and his plays were authored. Other famous institutions, that still exist today, such as the Royal Society and Royal Mail, were established during the reign of Charles II.

* * *

Please read and review!

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but this will be the last chapter of Eva's past and I wanted to get as much as I can done.


	9. Chapter 9

The Castle Tour (part 2)

The group was led through another corridor and into the base of the Donjon.

"We are now standing on the first floor of what is called the the Donjon, or Keep. This is one of the oldest sections of the castle and acts as the command center. Above us is where the McDowells' sleeping chambers are located. Note the walls of the Keep is much thicker than the outer walls." Gustav noted as they walked through not one, but two pairs of double doors.

Before passing into the heart of the castle, the group passed the kitchen, located adjacent to the Great Hall for convenience purposes. After briefly showing them the first floor, Gustav lead the group up another spiral stone staircase.

"Now the keep and ward design of castles began to decline in the early 1400s in favor of the concentric circle design, that is, two lines of defense and no central keep to capture."

As Negi, his students, and the rest of the tour group walked through the corridors, he thought to himself what Asuna had said to him earlier. She had told him to be careful not to let Eva know. After all, it was the little vampire who warned Asuna about telling Negi about her past lest she kill her first. With Asuna putting her life on the line, Negi had to take it seriously. But that meant completely rethinking his perception of his Master.

From the first day she spoke up in his class, he knew something was different about this girl, something that made her stood out from the rest of the class, and it was not because the was the only other fully Caucasian in the class. Then again, the first thing that she said to him was rather demeaning in a way as she poked fun at his spacing out.

"What's the matter professor? Even a young teacher should know better than to daydream in the middle of class?" She teased the young Negi with her distinctive British accent.

"Oh! Uhh....."

He did not know if he should have been appalled that a student would tease a teacher like him, or be impressed that a previously quite girl spoke up in the first place.

In the classroom, he was getting better at controlling his class and was able to finish his lessons on time. But when he found out that Eva, was the vampire that was attacking his students, it soon became apparent how insignificant his skills with magic was compared to hers. Then again, he was still a ten-year-old boy while she was over five hundred years old.

After battling with her in person, and witnessing firsthand her power, even if it wasn't her full power, he was impressed and asked to her to teach him magic. Although Anya scolded him for selling his soul off to the devil, Negi himself felt it was necessary if he was to find his father. But not once during his daily training sessions did he ever heard anything about his Master's past like that. In fact, the only thing his Master ever talked about was his training and battling. Not once did she say anything else.

But now his perception of his Master changed. He had never known himself to feel bad for Eva, as he was always in awe of her abilities. He never thought twice of the burdens that she had to bear, nor the pain that she must have felt when her father rejected her. As he followed behind Asuna, he only now began to notice the cold air that blew through the castle.

They soon reached the top of the landing of the fourth floor and Negi once again pulled himself back to reality.

"Staircases like the one we just came up were designed so that the defender would have the advantage in close quarter combat. The staircases are built clockwise going up because a defender could easily attack his opponent while the central pillar blocked the attacker from swinging his sword." Gustav explained.

There was a round of nods and amazement from the group as Gustav led them into the next room.

Negi and the others were amazed at the size of the bedroom. It was comparable to the Class Rep's room back in Japan, in size and the bed was equally as impressive. The bedroom had its own fire place and several chairs arranged neatly around it. The whole room was decorated with portraits and pieces of finely carved furniture.

"This is the main sleeping chamber where the Lord and his wife slept. As you can see, they had many comforts that the servants did not such as its own fireplace. You will find that many of the large rooms have their own fireplaces as there were no heaters in the medieval period.

Konoka pulled Setsuna over to whisper something in her ear, "Psst, is it just me, or does that woman look a lot like an older version of Eva?"

"Um, ojou-sama? I already saw that when I saw the portrait in the dinning hall."

"Oh! I must have forgot, silly me! Hehehe."

"Now we know where Eva gets her looks from. She looks an awful lot like her mother." Nekane noted.

"And see gets her eyes from her father it seems. There is no mistaking that shade of green." Negi added. He recognized those eyes anywhere, as he did not even need to look into them to feel her presence.

After another few minutes of glancing at the large bedroom, the group was lead out once again, and down another corridor.

Gustav lead the group into another room. This one was circular, about twenty feet in diameter. There was a large, four poster bed covered with crimson sheets in the center. Next to the bed was a tall, dark wood wardrobe, it's doors opened with several dresses fit for a small girl at the time. Across from them was a dresser with a mirror and wash basin. and across from the wardrobe was a small shelf with a few books and few delicate wooden toys.

Negi had been waiting the whole tour to see this. He had always been curious of his Master's past but never really got around to it. And now........ "So this is Master's room huh? It's so......different than her cottage and castle." As Negi continued to look around the room, he began to notice that it was actually similar than first meets the eye. For starters, the room was relatively bare and plain. The floor, just like the rest of the castle had either wooden or stone floors, and Eva's room in the castle had a wooden floor with a circular rug in the center presumably to try and insulate some heat. Eva's room in her cottage for example had no ornate decorations, no photographs or pictures of any kind, and even her bed, though quite large for her size, was rather plain.

After the group managed to squeeze themselves into the room, Gustav began speaking again. "This room once belonged to Lord McDowell's daughter. The dresses that you see in the wardrobe are reproductions of the originals. These were worn one time or another by the young lady."

"Ah! So this is Eva's room then? It's so cute!" Konoka said but rather quietly.

"I don't think its that interesting. It's fairly plain for a girl of her status." Anya noted. She could care less where her boogie man grew up and did not find the room very attractive.

"I think her room is wonderful! You have to keep in mind the time she was living in and did not have much." Nekane reminded Anya quietly.

The group took a minute to look around and take in the small, but cozy room. All the girls admired the room as it was located in one of the towers. All of their rooms back home were rectangular in shape and none of them had not once fantasized of living in a castle and living in a tower like a princess one time or another. And there it was right in front of them, every little's girl's dream with all the cliches. There was a small balcony just outside overlooking the courtyard, the room was inside a castle tower, and all the cute frilly dresses were there. Konoka and Asuna in particular felt a pang of jealously towards Eva, who actually lived their childhood fantasies.

As the group glanced around the room, Negi felt a chill down his spine. He knew that feeling anywhere as it was the same feeling he got when Eva first approached him from behind on Sakura Boulevard.

"Oh! Who's that on the wall?" Nekane asked.

Nekane pointed behind them. She had spun around and was facing the door they came through. As Negi and the others looked up, they saw something that they did not see when they first walked through the door. There was a large oil painting hung directly above the doorway, framed in ornate wood. The group all gasped. There was no mistaking the little girl in the painting.

"Oh that? That's her alright. That's the Lord's young daughter. The painting was a gift for the girl's ninth birthday by her father. You can see the date is a little faded but it reads, 'October 13th 1377,'" Gustav said. He remained oblivious to Negi and the girls' reaction to the sight as he had no idea of their relationship to the girl in question.

Negi gulped as he looked at the painting then stammered a question at Gustav even though he already knew the answer to it. "Uh....just curious....w-what was the girl's name?"

"Um, I believe it was Evangeline Athanasia Katherine McDowell. I know, really long name huh?"

The group was in shock. Their Evangeline, the person who chased Negi for his magic-rich blood, the famous Dark Evangel, the feared vampire for over five centuries, the one who prepared them for their trip to Mundus Magica, their classmate, seemed to be looking straight down at them. The Evangeline in the painting did have a significant difference to the one they knew, other than the fact the clothes were different. This one was smiling a genuine smile. Something none of them had ever seen the little vampire do.

Unfortunately their time was almost up and Gustav motioned for everyone to start walking back out the room and down the corridor. As they walked, he explained a story that had been told over the years and for a brief moment, he sounded more like an old storyteller than a tour guide.

"There is an old, old story that is passed down through the family and townsfolk. They say that centuries ago, the young girl who lived in this room was murdered by a vampire in her sleep on her tenth birthday. When morning finally came, several others had been killed and there was no sign of the girl's body anywhere. Some say that the vampire took the body with him. Others say that the body is hidden somewhere in this castle. But all of them say this: that on nights when the full moon is out, one can still hear the ghost of the girl as she waits for the tenth birthday that never came. Pretty interesting huh?"

"It is indeed. Did they ever say what happened to the little girl? Or her parents?" Nekane decided to ask.

"Good question. No one has ever seen or heard from the girl ever since she left. Her parents continued to get by until they passed away about thirty years later. Though it must have been very hard for them knowing that their daughter was still out there and could do nothing about it."

As Gustav lead the group through the last stretch of the tour, Negi finally began to understand Eva's pain. As it turned out, her situation was not that much different than his when they grew up.

"Now we come to the end of our tour. If you have any more questions regarding the castle or it's family please feel free to ask away."

This was it. This was Negi's chance to find our more about Eva's relationship with her parents.

"What was the Lord and Lady McDowell like? And how was the relationship with their daughter?"

"Hard to say actually. The Lord was a busy man so I doubt he got the chance to see Evangeline much. And from what the archives show, Lady McDowell was quite strict about proper protocol and such. She wanted to see Eva rule in their stead one day, possibly all of Scotland at one time or another. Either way, I doubt either saw or paid much attention to the poor girl."

"What was she like do you know?"

"I don't know much about that I'm afraid. We have very little evidence from that time. Diaries were unheard of at the time as paper was expensive, and few records have actually survived. We do know from stories that have passed down that she was quite a hard worker even for her age. We also can infer that as there was a war going on at the time, it was unlikely that she had a chance to see the world outside the castle walls."

"I see.........I suppose being royalty isn't fun and games then wasn't it?" Asuna commented snidely.

Gustav chuckled at the red head's comment but nonetheless agreed. Life was not as fun as one would expect from being a princess, and Eva was no exception.

"Yeah, so anyways, it seems that this Evangeline girl grew up without really knowing her parents then?" Konoka asked? "But that's too sad!"

Gustav understood what the chocolate-haired girl meant and lowered his head slightly. "It certainly seems so, yes. The McDowells never did find the body and much has been lost over the past centuries. Why do you wish to know?"

"Oh nothing, it just seems really interesting that's all!"

At the end of the tour, Negi asked Gustav something. He didn't know why he did it, it was a gut feeling, but something inside of him told him to ask. "Excuse me sir, could you perhaps tell us where the McDowells are buried?"

"Yes of course! They are buried in the village cemetery just over the hill yonder." He said pointing in the direction. "They were prominent people so their tombstones will be larger than the surrounding ones. May I ask why?"

"We....we would......just like to pay our respects sir. They seemed very wonderful people."

"Indeed they were. Although Scotland is now part of the United Kingdom, they were still responsible for a good part of its history. Did you know for instance, the King they were fighting against was the same King that established the Stuart Dynasty?"

"No I never knew that. I'm actually from Wales myself, but I never knew that it was from Scotland that we had some of the most famous kings."

"That is very interesting. Is there anything else you would like to know before you and the ladies leave?"

"No, nothing at all. Thank you very much!" Negi said and the others chimed in as well to thank Gustav for the tour.

The group walked back to the entrance to wait for Eva and Chachamaru. But as they did, there was a somber tone surrounding them.

No one spoke for a while, although each one of them could guess what everyone else was thinking.

"Anya, you haven't said anything for a while, what's on your mind?" Nekane said.

"Same thing as you I suppose. I.......I never thought that I would actually feel bad for her like this. You know, me being scared of her and all." The Russian mage responded. It was true that Anya was scared to death of Eva and that Evangeline enjoyed watching her squirm. She never thought she would actually feel bad for her.

Negi didn't pay much attention to what his students were saying as he happened to be in deep thought.

Had he really been wrong about his Master this whole time?

Now that he heard about her past situation, he couldn't help but feel a little closer to her. He had peeked into a tiny fraction of his master's past, but that was only her recent past. Not once had he considered what Eva was like before she became a vampire and he felt a familiar shiver run down his spine as he noticed some eerie similarities between himself and his master.

When he saw the portrait of Eva's parents, it felt that it was his own parents were staring at him. From what he could remember from Rakan's movie, he could interpret what his mother looked like and had an odd similarity to Eva's own mother. Not only did they looked similar physically, they seemed to share similar personalities as well.

Negi never noticed how much he had been missing out until he heard what Eva had to go through.

They both never knew their parents that well as Negi could barely remember his father and wasn't even sure that he even had a mother to begin with. Nekane had always been his mother figure in his life and he never really thought about his biological mother as he took his older sister for granted.

Negi only snapped out of his deep thought when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Setsuna.

"So Asuna told you then?"

"About-about Evangeline? Yeah she did." Negi looked down as he finished his sentence. "She told you as well?"

Setsuna nodded. "I.......I felt bad when she told me that. I always thought that I was burdened at a young age, you know with being a half-demon and all. At first I didn't think that....that ojou-sama would accept me if she ever found out. I also.......didn't think I'd fit in with everyone."

"I.......I see....."

"But.......to disappear from her castle like this.......and be considered a monster for centuries......I had no idea. I......."

"Yes, I know what you mean. I.......I too feel bad for Master. Did she ever tell you why she ran away?"

"N-no. She did not. Do you think her parents ever found out she was a vampire?"

Negi had no answer.

* * *

The Flowerfield

Eva was sitting on a rock just staring at the large field of lilacs in front of her for almost half an hour. In her mind's eye, it seemed that a movie of her past started to play back in front of her. There were both good and bad moments, people she still remembered, and people whose faces remain a blur. Why did she still feel so empty inside? Had she not gotten back all her power? Why was there the lingering feeling that something was missing?

Chachamaru's voice came from behind her, but she sounded so much more distant, "Master? Shall we head back now? The others should almost be done with the tour."

Reluctantly, Eva got back up and patted herself down of the loose leaves and flowers. "I suppose so. Come, Chachamaru."

"Yes Master."

As the two started to walk back to the castle, Eva had one of her gut feelings.

"Something tells me that Asuna might have said something to Negi that she shouldn't have. If she did...." she smiled a toothy grin that revealed her fangs, "She'll have to answer to me."

Around 3:00 in the afternoon, Negi, Asuna, Anya, Nekane, Konoka and Setsuna saw the tall and short outlines of Chachamaru and Evangeline over the hill. The six of them ran up to meet them and asked what they did during the tour.

"Ah there you are Eva! We've been waiting for you!" Nekane waved at the pair cheerfully. Her friendly gesture was not returned however.

"So how was the tour?" Chachamaru asked the group.

"It was.........very informative! We learned so much about medieval history!" Setsuna said, choosing her words carefully as not to offend the little vampiress.

"We......we actually got to see your old room Master.........it was.....different." Negi said to Eva.

"I can't believe I'm actually saying this but.........I'm sorta jealous of you. You got to live out the princess fantasy which I have dreamed up when I was a kid." Anya added quite reluctantly.

"Yeah, whatever.........." Eva's voice trailed off. She did not feel any sort of attachment to her old room anymore.

"Why, what's wrong? Do you not miss it?" Asuna asked.

"No, not really. Besides that was centuries ago. I care not for that room anymore." Eva said rather curtly.

The others were a little shocked by Eva's harsh words. Then again, that did explain why she did not want to tour her old home. As to why she felt no attachment to it remained a mystery to be solved.

"A-anyways, so what did you do during the tour?" Negi asked, trying to change the subject.

"Really, you people are so nosy as usual," Eva grumbled.

"If you must know, Master and I went on a little walk around town and the surrounding area." Chachamaru said.

"Oh I see. Anyways, there is one place I would like to stop by before we head back home." Negi told the group at large.

"And what might that be?" Eva grumbled.

"Why, to visit your parents' graves of course!" Negi said happily. He was excited that he was finally going to meet her parents, or at least maybe their spirits.

Evangeline however was not.

* * *

Please read and review!

A/N: So there you have it! I noticed many reviewers wanted to see the group tour her old room and here it is finally! I hope it is to everyone's liking!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Before you read this chapter, I want to say that this is the second half of Eva spending time with Nagi, before she and the group visits Castle McDowell. This is the second to last chapter and in case you have not noticed, the story was written in a mirrored fashion.

So without further ado, let us continue with the story!

* * *

Nighttime with Nagi

As the sun began to set inside the glass sphere of Castle Lebens Schuld, Eva pulled Nagi back inside the castle to show him to his room for the night.

Since Eva's spell on the castle prevents anyone from leaving for twenty-four hours, she felt obligated and........ a little proud that Nagi would be spending the night with her in the castle.

After going through a series of corridors, and up several flights of stairs, Eva had one of her dozen servants open the door to the guest wing. Nagi was right in thinking that this part of the castle resembled a world-class hotel. The guest wing housed several bedrooms for guests, many of which were used by her apprentices as their 'second bedroom', there was a large sitting area towards the middle presumably so that guests could sit around and chat and have tea together, and had its own balcony looking over the waterfalls. Eva led Nagi down a central corridor and showed him to one of the 'smaller' bedrooms. The maid opened the door for the two and again Nagi's jaw just dropped in awe.

The room was rectangular in size and quite large, or at least by his standards. There was a large, queen sized bed on one side of the room, a sofa on the other end and a large wooden wardrobe beside the bed. The whole room looked to be finished like the rest of the castle, in limestone, marble and granite.

"This will be your room for the night. The other rooms are used by my apprentices so I......thought I should give you a fresh room. It may not be the best one we have here, but I hope you'll find it to your liking," Eva told Nagi.

"Are you kidding?! This room has got to be the best one I've ever stayed in!" Nagi exclaimed and was almost acting like a kid again.

Eva merely rolled her eyes at his comment.

"Just curious, how many guest rooms are there?"

"Oh, um....I think there are about twenty or so in this wing. I think there might be more in the other wing."

"And........ how many rooms do you have in total?" Nagi asked almost breathlessly.

"I don't know, I never counted. Over two hundred for sure," she said nonchalantly.

"You really are an amazing person Evangeline," Nagi said smiling to the little vampiress.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let me show you to the baths," Eva said and led the way down the hall to the guest baths.

Nagi felt like he was going to faint from all the opulence. He was a simple mage who did not care or mind for fancy things, comfy beds and five course meals. He was used to sleeping on the ground, in a sleeping bag inside a tent half the time when he was on his travels. He was used to catching and cooking his own food by a camp fire and was lucky if he got three meals in one day.

While those were nice once in a blue moon, he felt that it simply was not for him. And here was this tiny girl who brushed all this aside as if it were normal for super-powerful mages to have fancy castles and servants at their beck and call.

For instance, a few hours ago at dinnertime, he was shown to one of the many indoor dining halls. This one was Evangeline's private dinning room, and it was, just like the rest of the castle, ridiculously large. The long table that sat in the middle of the room was equally ridiculously large.

A bell rang somewhere, and in came several maids came in carrying what looked like enough food for eight people, except that there was only the two of them. He took his seat on Eva's right hand side and was stunned into silence at all the food in front of him.

"I hope this....is enough food for you Nagi......." Eva half-heartedly told him.

_What kind of question was that coming from a ten-year-old girl? Was this her idea of a joke?_ Nagi thought to himself as he started with his first course, which was bread and butter. Dinnertime was mostly quiet save for a few jokes of Eishun and Rakan. As he worked through his main course, he felt......somewhat guilty, a feeling he did not normally feel. For some reason he felt it.....wrong, that a small girl like her was feeding him and housing him. Since he missed out on being a parent, now that feeling finally started to sink in and he felt that she was already doing too much for him.

Nagi had to pull himself back to reality as he was shown around the large bath full of showers and bathtubs that were used by Eva's guests and apprentices. Again Nagi was in awe of the community baths.

"Wait until you see the Mistress's private bath," one maid said as if reading Nagi's expression.

"Private bath?"

"Yeah, c'mon." Eva tugged on Nagi's arm.

Eva held Nagi's arm like that of a small child and a parent, which, would look the scene for anyone actually looking at them now.

She led him through a pair of tall, double doors and behind it Nagi was stunned into silence. The room was supported by several marble columns, the tops of which were ornately carved and decorated. Right in the very center of the room was the bath, no..... swimming pool. Nagi could hear what sounded like an indoor waterfall and as he looked to the opposite side of the room, he could not one, but several waterfalls that drained into little niches on the side of the bath. All around, there were statues of gargoyles and angels, and the floor was studded with painted gold and the ceiling was set with precious stones and jewels. Above the bath was a kind of crystal sculpture that was lit, probably by magic and gave off a whimsical light to the room.

"Hahaha! I was right to say before that you really know how to spoil yourself Eva! This bath looks to be fit for a Roman Emperor! I am thoroughly impressed!"

Eva said nothing. She loathed the fact that Nagi was able to compliment and insult her in the same breath. She hated being called spoiled.

Nagi was then left to clean up in the community bath while Eva herself went to her own. Nagi had not brought a change of clothes nor did he bring his toiletries along. That was not a problem as one glance around the room showed that everything that he needed was already there. Soaps, shampoos, towels, bathrobes, and sponges were all stacked neatly in one area.

Nagi grabbed one of each and settled himself down in a hot bath. At first the water was too hot, but as his body adjusted to the temperature, he realized how much he missed a nice, hot bath. He could not remember when the last time he took a bath like this, but it was like heaven for him as he let the hot water and soap suds wash over his body.

After cleaning himself up, he was led back to Eva's room for evening tea.

Evangeline's room in Castle Lebens Schuld was one of the largest and most ornate rooms Nagi had ever seen. It just seemed that there was no end to the grandeur of the castle. It stood in the middle of the central tower, and had a high ceiling with the bed, which looked as big as a normal sized bedroom, was plopped square in the center of the circular room.

Then again, the castle and the cottage themselves spoke (rather silently) volumes of its Master. The cottage for instance was a testimony to Eva's simplicity and her lack of desire for material things. It was simple, cute, and relatively unadorned. It was filled with dolls but otherwise devoid of any fancy decorations. The cottage, in a sense, was also a cover that hid Eva's true nature. Its log cabin exterior was similar to that of Eva's guise as a ten-year-old girl.

The castle on the other hand spoke of Evangeline's true self. The cottage was merely a cover and a holding place for this colossal structure. Just like the Palace of Versailles of France, or the Forbidden City of China, the imposing structures were as much an architectural statement, as it was a political one. Castle Lebens Schuld was no different. The scale of Eva's private chambers and bath, the opulence, was all a testimony to Eva's own colossal power and strength. The attention to detail down to the last jewel mirrored Eva's impossibly high standards of what it meant to be strong.

"So what kind of tea will you be having tonight Mr. Springfield?"

"Uh, something non- decaffeinated please. How about one of the peppermint ones?"

Evangeline was served her favorite tea.

"I figured you would be one to favor red tea. What flavor is that one?"

Eva took a sip, set her teacup back on her saucer and grinned evilly.

"My personal favorite and Chachamaru's own brand, we call it, Bloodline Tea."

"Uh huh........uh.....made with real blood?"

Eva did not answer but merely smiled again.

"Listen Eva......."

"Hmm?"

Nagi let out a sigh and said, "Nevermind........perhaps this is not the best time to say it.........."

After tea, it was off to bed. As Nagi laid down on his bed and stared out into the artificial night, he could not help but wonder how a person like Eva gets any sleep at all.

He tried to clear his mind and focus on sleeping instead. Ah, the bed was so comfortable and so warm...... he was used to traveling around and sleeping on the the ground in a tent, and now he was being treated like an honored guest of a queen. He closed his eyes and was asleep in less than twenty minutes. He was having a wonderful dream. He dreamt that he was back in his cozy home in Wales, sitting at the table with his wife, Arika, and seated across from him was Nekane and Negi. He was so happy. He always wanted a family, because it was with them, whose moments and times he treasured most. To be with the people he loved sitting around him was more than anything he could hope for.

Sadly, his dream was cut short because around 2:00 in the morning, he was woken up abruptly by a high-pitched scream.

Nagi instinctively shot out of bed and ran down the hall to Eva's room.

He burst through the large double doors and had to squint a little as the room was faintly lit by the moonlight creeping though the windows. There, in the very center of the large bed, was a tiny girl with the covers pulled all the way up to her face. He could not see her well, but had a feeling that she was the one who screamed just now.

"N-Nagi!! What are you doing here?!"

Ah, Eva's heightened senses never failed her. Figures her vampire sight helped her see him clearly in the doorway.

"I heard a scream just now and wanted to see what happened." Nagi said with much concern in his voice.

He moved onto her large bed and crawled over to the distraught girl. Nagi was......shocked and even scared what could have scared the infamous Mistress of the Night. He thought it must have been pretty bad if something could scare the scarer.

"Are you okay Eva? Do you......wish to talk about it?"

Eva hiccuped and was breathing heavily. Her small arms were trembling as she tried shifting her body to a more comfortable position.

"Here..." Nagi said holding out his left arm up to Eva's face. "...you can have a bit of my blood if it'll make you feel better."

Eva hiccuped again at the kind act. She steadied herself and carefully bit his arm and began to slurp away his magic-rich blood. He had already allowed her a drink earlier today, but she could never miss the the taste of blood, especially his. She wasn't used to people who willingly gave up their blood for her. Most of the time she had to take it by force.

"There you go! Are we feeling better now?" Nagi said after she drank her fill.

"A.....a little............t-thanks........"

"So.......are you going to tell me what could have scared the famous super vampire?"

"I......I-I........" Eva hesitated telling Nagi. Although she knew he was one of the few, if not only person who would listen to her troubles, she also hated showing weakness of any kind to any one.

"Look...." Nagi paused for a breath, "...I know you don't like showing any weaknesses but....it's just the two of us for now. But I promise I won't tell a soul about your troubles. If I do, you can beat me up over it okay?"

"O-okay. Well......I-I....I had a.....nightmare........" Eva began.

"I figured as much, go on please."

"And um.....it was all dark....and.....I....I saw my parents again......"

"Is that not a good thing?"

"Well........they said........they did not wish to see me in the afterlife.......they said.......that I could.......

"Yes...." Nagi dreaded her answer.

"...that I could rot in hell.....for the rest of my life!!!" her voice became noticeably louder as she finished her sentence. Before she could say any more, she broke into sobs and tears again.

A maid appeared at the door and asked what just happened. Nagi asked that the maid bring a pitcher of water, some glasses, and a few handkerchiefs. The maid nodded and hurried back out. Nagi could not keep track of the number of gynoid maids Eva had. Every one of them who has served them so far were different from what he could see.

Nagi couldn't help but feel sorry for the little vampiress. Actually at this point, she looked more like a scared child than a scary vampire, which was a nice change for once. Heh, even in this state she still looked as cute as a button in his opinion. He refrained from commenting because of the rather sensitive situation right now. This could not have been the first time she's had that nightmare. He wondered how long has her parents' ghosts have been haunting her, and then realized it must have been ever since she left her home. She probably blamed herself. She blamed herself for not being strong enough.

Eva could not understand why she felt this way, or even had nightmares still to begin with. She was supposed to give other people nightmares, but not get nightmares herself. She could fight off a hundred demons all at once and survived through countless years of wars and turmoil, yet she could not fight off the demons in her own mind, no matter how powerful she was. She was very frustrated.

Nagi too, sensed this frustration. It bothered him that he could not do more for the little girl other than stroking her hair and giving her a bit of his blood.

"Eva?"

_Sniff, sniff. _"Yes.........what do you want?"

"I know this may not mean much but.......have you ever thought about going back to visit your parents' graves?"

"N-no......and....I don't ever want to go back to that place!"

"Perhaps it might be good for you, you know? I'm sure they miss you very much, and........it might even give you a bit of closure as well."

"Maybe......."

Nagi could understand why Eva was so reluctant on going back home. He was no expert on this, but he felt she might have PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder. It would be no surprise after the loss of her parents and having to live with the responsibility of the countless lives she took. It was a wonder how Eva did not crack or go insane with that much pain and suffering. Then again, no one had Eva's will power and strength. He figured that a combination of that could be what's causing her nightmares. And here he was, being treated by and taken care of by her. It felt wrong to him. He didn't need any of this! It should have been the other way around. It was her that lost everything she held so dear, it was her who ran away from home and it was her who was lonely. He should have been the one taking care of her.

It seemed that after she lost everything that was dear to her, she just drowned herself in power.

She immersed herself deep in it.

She became _one_ with it. Hoping that it would make her feel better.

And it did.

She loved the feeling of strength.

She loved the feeling of magic coursing through her blood.

She loved the feeling of being able to hold a person's life in the palm of her hand.

She loved the feeling of superiority, of being stronger than anyone of her kind.

And yet, those feelings were not lasting.

He felt he finally understood why Eva became so obsessed with being strong and powerful. She had no other choice in the matter, and perhaps felt that being strong in her still naive mind might make her parents come back. She perhaps felt that being evil like this was her punishment. But for better or worse, he couldn't help but shed a tear for Evangeline.

Nagi did not think. He started to instinctively pat Eva's head and stroking her fine platinum blonde hair. He held her small frame close to his body as if protecting her from any more physical harm. For several minutes, there was silence save but Eva's sniffles and occasional squeaks and hiccups.

Nagi sighed to himself and thought, _I am being too nice for my own good right now._ And before he knew what happened, his mouth opened up and said, "If you'd like, I can stay here with you the rest of the night."

Eva's face lit up as he said that and almost immediately stopped crying.

"You'd really do that........for me?"

"Yes I would. Besides, its the least I can do after you treated me lunch and dinner."

Eva smiled the tiniest of smiles, wiped her face as clean as possible and crawled back underneath the covers.

Nagi too crawled under the covers with Evangeline and laid his head on the large pillow next to her. He continued to stroke her hair as they laid there in the dark for several minutes.

_It's a good thing no one else is here to see this, lest they see me as some sort of pedophile. _ Nagi thought as he drifted off to sleep with the little vampiress next to him.

Nagi immediately regretted sleeping with her the next morning.

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Please read and review!

A/N: I wish to take this time to thank all the reviewers and readers who have read this story so far! I am almost done and I wish to take the time to acknowledge them. I also want to thank Donkeykong75m once again for helping me to proofread and beta this chapter!


	11. Chapter 11

Wow! I'm finally about to finish my longest fic ever! First off, I want to thank all the reviewers and readers who have stuck with me and this story for so long. Now the conclusion of Eva's visit to her home is finally here. Please enjoy! Once again, i do not own Negima or any of its characters.

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The Prodigal Daughter Returns

Negi and the girls had just finished the tour of Castle McDowell. For Asuna, Konoka and Setsuna, who were on winter vacation with Negi were amazed by the size and the mystique that surrounded the centuries old medieval castle. Sure, Konoka and Setsuna knew of the Himeji Castle in their home country, Japan, but this was so different in terms of look and history.

Negi asked the tour guide, Gustav, where the McDowell's were buried, saying that he wanted to pay his respects. Gustav happily pointed in the direction of the cemetery where many soldiers and people were buried during the wars between Scotland and England.

"Why do you want to visit a cemetery so much Negi? Those places are kinda creepy." Asuna asked the young teacher.

"Actually, I thought it would be nice if we all went to pay our respects, especially Evangeline here, don't you think so Eva?" Negi turned to the blonde vampiress.

Eva however didn't look all that excited, and merely lowered her head and gave a small nod. Under normal circumstances, she would have growled at Asuna and Negi and told them that she was not interested in such a trivial outing and would have stayed in her cabin to read or practice her magic. Although she could have backed out of going to the cemetery at anytime, doing so would only invite 'those idiots' to say that she was scared and as the Mistress of the Night, she could not and _will not_ allow any slights to her reputation.

Throughout her many years as a vampire, she traveled just about all over the globe spreading her evil and darkness. Europe was the first to collapse to her evil, starting with England back in the early 15th century. With vampiric flight, she could choose to go anywhere she pleased. There was however, one place where she, the most powerful daywalker and Queen of Darkness, did not wish to go. And that was Scotland, her original home.

As the eight walked up the hill towards the cemetery, Negi couldn't help but wonder again at his magic teacher. He was so glad to be back home to visit his sister and childhood friend Anya. Sure he became more accustomed to the Japanese culture and food, he still missed home, he was still ten after all. He enjoyed the herbal teas that Konoka and Chachamaru occasionally made for Negi, but he still missed the English Breakfast Tea that his sister made. So why then was Eva so reluctant to visit her parent's grave sites? She was the famed vampire that scared Anya when she first met her, so she can't possibly be scared right?

Plus, Negi, who has never knew his parents, would have not passed the opportunity to meet his mother or father even if it was for a day. But for some unknown reason, it seemed that Eva _did not _wish to meet her parents, much less their graves.

Chachamaru did not not say much during the trip. She merely watched and listened. Although she was Evangeline's partner in combat, her mannerisms and actions were almost opposite that of her Master's. For the robot girl, this was a first for her. Eva never talked much about herself, much less her past, and not even her sister, Chachazero, would know Eva's full story.

The cemetery where the McDowell's were buried was on a little hill on the outskirts of town. This one was quite large and there were several tombstones lined up neatly across the hill. There were some mausoleums for those wealthy enough to afford it. As an undead mage and vampire, Evangeline was no stranger to cemeteries. But this was one that she dreaded to come.

Eva was not one to be scared easily or be scared of something or someone for that matter. No, she considered herself as experienced too much and was too powerful for something like that to happen. However, that wasn't true. As it turns out there were a few things that the little vampire was scared of. The first was losing her power. Just like Mao or Stalin, or even an elected president who feel they should be allowed to stay in office indefinitely, they feared losing their power to others, including their own 'friends'. Over the course of five centuries, Eva had built up a reputation as many mages would know, to the point where her name became synonymous with the boogie man in modern times. Although the blonde vampiress would never admit it, she was kind of obsessed about power.

The second was being alone. Ironically, her addiction to power was probably what lead to this second fear. She didn't want to admit it, as it would make her seem weak.

Then there is one more fear. Although most people would never think twice about it, it certainly played back numerous times on her mind. In fact, it's been haunting her for centuries.

The group was silent as they approached the graveyard, but nonetheless silently split up to find the gravestones of Eva's parents. Asuna, Konoka and Setsuna were all in one group and they headed in one direction while Negi, Nekane and Anya split up and headed in the other direction.

Evangeline and Chachamaru didn't really try finding the gravestones, although Eva could have left at anytime, there was a tiny part of her that told her to stay.

Several minutes later, Negi and the others at last found a pair of large, ornate tombstones, overshadowing their surrounding counterparts. Both were tall, made of white granite, and were intricately carved with small figurines and letters. The one of the left had the name, 'Lord Alexander Mauris McDowell' while the one on the right had the inscription, 'Lady Athanasia Beatrice McDowell.' When Negi had read the name, 'Athanasia' he knew right away that these must be Eva's parents' graves. He passed by many gravestones that had the last name 'McDowell', but only this one had one of Eva's middle name in it. He read the class roster enough times to know.

Negi called out to the others that he found them and the other girls soon gathered around in the cool, late afternoon. For several minutes, the group stood silent facing the stone markers. Eva herself just stared at her parents' names absentmindedly.

It was not long before both Negi and Anya felt a ghostly presence where the graves were, two presences to be exact. Asuna and Setsuna could feel it as well: it was a similar presence to their classmate, Sayo Aisaka, the class ghost. Konoka and Nekane both seemed clueless about the presence.

Nekane asked what was going on, and Negi explained the ghost phenomenon. He explained that the other undead member of his class was a ghost that was trapped in the school just like Eva had been. Setsuna added that there was a type of ghost that continued to wander around aimlessly after death because of an incident surrounding a person's death or something prior to it.

"It's as if the soul of the deceased person still had some unfinished business in the previous life and before that business is finished, that soul will continue to wander the Earth, unable to move on."

"Eva, aren't you going do that spell?" Negi asked his magic teacher.

"Why should I? I....I have nothing to say to them," Eva shrugged reluctantly. She had not spoken to them for this long, so what was she supposed to say about her current state?

"You can always tell them the truth. That might be best.....:

Eva sighed and refused. "No I'm not." How ever the boy naively mistook that as "I don't care you do it."

Negi held up his staff, "Ok then Master I'll do it!"

Eva's eyes bugged out as she realized what her foolish pupil was about to do. "N-no wait Boya!"

But unfortunately for the little girl she was a tad too late and instead of pushing Negi to the ground, wound up face planting in the grass, above the graves, two human-shaped figures glowed with a bright light and after a few seconds, two semisolid figures appeared before the group.

Anya and Nekane almost screamed as standing in front of the tombstones were two pale figures dressed in medieval clothing. The figure on the left, her father was tall and elegant. He had shoulder length red hair combed and parted neatly down the center of his head. He was richly dressed with a ruff and high collar. His face was not too different that Nagi Springfield's as they had a similar jawline and nose. He had the same green, piercing eyes as Evangeline.

The figure on the right was her mother. She had flowing platinum blonde hair, a delicate face and slim body. She was also richly dressed in what looked to be a hand-woven dress made of fine linen.

Eva quickly picked herself back up and patted herself down. She also retreated behind the others, but was soon pushed to the front by Asuna and Setsuna.

"Um.......H-h-hi." Evangeline said nervously.

"Evangeline dear, is that you?" The female ghost spirit said.

"Y-yes....."

"Do you not recognize your own kin?

"I see you have not changed at all, I hope you are doing well in whatever time it maybe?" her father asked.

"Uh.....I guess so.......I'm doing......okay I suppose....." Eva said without looking into her parents' eyes. For a few minutes, another one of those awkward silences had washed over the group. Eva and her parents were biding their time to see who would or should speak first.

But the first to break the silence was none of the three. "Uh... excuse me, but I was wondering, why are your souls still here? I mean, I don't wish to be rude but you two are not bound by a curse or something are you? Nekane asked as politely as she could muster. She wanted to get a nice conversation going between them and Eva's parents to hopefully loosen any tension.

"No. We are bound by no curse. At least, I do not think we are," Lady McDowell said.

"Then why......?"

"I cannot say for certainty, but we have been waiting here for so long for a chance that our beloved daughter might one day return. On her tenth birthday she could not be found anywhere in the castle. One of our servants was found dead in her room but our daughter was not there." Eva's mother explained.

Lord McDowell continued his wife's explanation. "We tried to move from this spot many times, but we were forbidden to move beyond the boundaries of this cemetery."

Negi nodded silently to himself as soon as he heard this. That would explain why Sayo Aisaka was still on the class roster even though she passed away in 1940. Because she had a strong attachment to the silver leaf flower garden, she remained bound to the campus ever since.

"We ordered a search party to locate her but after a full moon's cycle, we gave up on trying to find her," Lord McDowell continued. "We did receive a letter from her saying that she was doing alright and told us not to search for her."

"If we were not bound by this cemetery, we would have continued the search ourselves," Eva's mother added.

Setsuna chose to speak up this time. "So basically you missed your daughter."

The two ghosts nodded solemnly and each shed a tear. Evangeline thought that her parents would have forgotten her by now, but she was wrong. Eva was........very moved by her mother's words. "I.......I missed you too......'

Her father stepped forward and knelt down in front of Eva and placed a hand on her head. "Evangeline?....…I'm sorry," he said. Her father looked down at his daughter, his eyes showed no signs of hostility nor anger, only sadness. "Could you.......ever forgive us?"

"…What?" Eva asked quizzically. It was shocking to her that he wasn't demanding an apology, but giving one. She had always thought that when she came back, he would have demanded one. But that was not so. Eva wasn't convinced though.........

"…we're sorry…we......have failed in our duty as parents......" her mother continued.

Eva did not say this often. In fact, she couldn't remember if she ever said it at all. "T-that is alright mother and father! I.......I....f-for-" but the word got stuck in her throat. She swallowed and tried again. "I.....I...f-for...g-gi...

She couldn't say it. It felt that she would die if she said it. But her parents could understand why it was hard for her to say it. So her father said, "That's alright, we understand. You don't have to say it if its too painful. We know that deep down in your heart you forgive us, and grateful."

"So who are your friends here?" Lady McDowell asked noticing the small group behind Eva.

"Oh they're not my....." Eva began, but the others politely introduced themselves as her friends, Chachamaru as her loyal servant, and for Asuna, Negi and Setsuna, as her apprentices specifically. Before long, the group, minus Anya, was getting into a lively conversation about Eva. Before long, Lord McDowell turned back to Eva to ask, "What have you been doing all this time?"

"Well I..........I......." Eva struggled to speak.

"She has done much, more than anyone has. She currently is a ruler of a vast kingdom that spans the globe." Negi cut in.

"Oh my! And who are you?" Lady McDowell asked.

"I am one of her many apprentices, as well as her teacher, Negi."

The others caught on to what Negi was trying to do.

"Yes, she even has her own personal castle, serviced full time by an army of maids that await her beck and call. As well as her own resort which she created herself. She also has earned many titles and has been quite influential in our history."

"She's even developed her own brand of magic!"

Eva was stunned silent. As the others continued to list her accomplishments and abilities, she had an odd mixture of pride and embarrassment, though mostly embarrassment. She gloated her abilities many a time to hundreds, possibly thousands of people, yet why did this feel.......wrong?

She was Evangeline McDowell, famed super vampire and dark mage. But for this moment, she was not herself. Her words lacked the force it normally did, and she herself lacked the usual confidence the little vampiress had. The others were certainly surprised that their magic teacher and bully general was so different now. Then again, this was her parents after all.

On the other hand, her parents seemed to swell with pride and joy that their daughter, who they raised for ten years, had grown to such an influential person whose figurative size vastly dwarfed her physical one. At the same time, they seemed a little concerned, even scared at the amount of things Eva has done. This was not how she saw herself. She was a wanted criminal in the magic world and a hunted vampire.

Eva could not take it anymore. She could feel her face reddening with anger and embarrassment. "S-SHUT UP fools! Don't you get it, yet?! I-I ran way I took the easy way out! I couldn't bring myself to bear the shame of what I became!"

"What you became? Whatever do you mean?" her father asked thinking there was something missing to the puzzle.

"Well.....I......I......" Eva struggled to speak. She felt as if her throat had a knot or two in it and her tongue was tied up as well. But more importantly, she was afraid to tell her parents what happened to her. She did not wish to lie to them, that would be wrong. She felt her insides being torn apart. Negi and the others could feel what she was going through and also felt a pang in their hearts.

"I....was......I was turned into a vampire!" Eva finally blurted out and gasped for air.

Her parents were, not surprisingly, shocked out of their minds. "My word, that must have been terrible!" her mother exclaimed.

"Are you alright then? Did you have trouble adjusting to your new life? Were you hurt in anyway?" Her father and mother started bombarding her with questions.

"Yes! Yes it was........" Eva began. She steadied herself and explained as best as she could what happened that night. She told her parents of how she woke up with her dress soaked with blood, and how scared she was. She told her parents how she just ran off in the cold winter morning. She told them how difficult it was for her to adjust to being a vampire, having to live off the blood of other living creatures, and how much she had to struggle just to survive.

Her parents were relieved to hear that Eva was alright, or else she wouldn't be standing in front of them right now. But they were nonetheless horrified, not by Eva, but what she had to go through. Sure they've fought in wars, their hands had been stained with blood, but they were adults. Eva was still a child when she had to kill to survive, and that was something that they had wanted her to keep away from. "But, why did you not come back home?" Her father finally asked.

"Because I.......I.....was......afraid that.....that...."

Eva was scared to say it but she felt she had to. This was the reason why she always dreaded coming back to this place. The Asuna and Setsuna dreaded Eva's answer, but they felt they already knew it.

"Because I was afraid......that you would........would not accept me anymore!" Eva almost shouted.

Eva could feel tears engulfing her eyes. She was straining her hardest not to cry. The others however, did not have nearly as much will power and strength as Eva did and many were crying already. Even Anya, who from the minute she first met Eva, hated her to the utmost, could not help but feel a pang of sorrow and shed a tear for the vampiress. But Evangeline was not going to cry. Not now, not in front of her parents, and definitely not in front of her classmates. She had a reputation to keep up after all.

Nevertheless, she felt her knees give away and collapsed to the ground. A part of her wanted to just get up and run away in the opposite direction. She had always been good guessing. Eva guessed or thought she knew what her parents would say to her now. She had been hunted down countless times during the age of the witch hunts in the fifteenth century. People have been grabbing people and pointing fingers right and left at anyone suspicious. She could vaguely remember innocent people wrongfully accused of being witches or vampire and were hanged in the castle gallows. It was only natural for her to think that her parents would have done the same to her if they ever found out. She couldn't bear to hear her parents say that she wasn't wanted anymore.

Eva stood up, turned around and started walking away from the graves. She wanted to run off into the distance again, just like she did all those years ago. She had barely taken five steps when she felt a pair of soft arms enclose around her and she felt a gentle hand stroke the top of her head and work its way down her long platinum blonde hair. Normally the little vampiress hated being hugged, or more appropriately, glomped. She disliked it when her classmates treated her like a doll and toy and not an actual vampire. However, there was something different about this hug.......

"You ran away from us once Evangeline. We are not about to let that happen again." Her father said.

Eva's mother spoke with a soft voice. "There, there Evangeline. You need not be so distressed. We would never cast you aside," she said kindly as she continued to hold her daughter in her arms.

"You are our only daughter after all. We could never throw you out like that even if we wanted to." Eva looked up and finally looked her father in the eye. Eva studied his expression and his eyes carefully. He was not lying. He meant every word.

Eva was shocked by this sudden turn of events. She always thought she could predict people's movements and thinking. She could predict Negi's fighting moves and tell which direction he was going to strike next. But of all the things in the world that Eva knew well and understood, this was something that she didn't know.

"But why..........?" Eva began.

"Because we are your parents Evangeline." Her mother said.

"You did not become a vampire because you wanted to right? You did what you had to to survive, we would have done the same had we been in your position." her father said.

"B-but! You don't understand! I.....I have become an evil power-hungry monster! My own kind even fears me! Yet why do you still treat me like a human?" Eva asked.

"Eva...is that all you saw yourself as? The aggressor? We are not treating you like a vampire or human. You were a victim of an unfortunate attack but you have survived nonetheless. I assure you that becoming what you are now is not your fault," her father assured her.

"I am just glad that you came back to the castle." Her mother said softly to Eva. And hugged her again. Her father also joined in and hugged the two tightly.

No words were spoken between them for some time. But words were not needed. The unspoken dialog between the three was clear. Her parents loved her even after all these years. They did not care if Eva was evil or a vampire. All they cared about was that she came back to them and she was safe. She could tell that they felt guilty for not doing their duty of taking care of Eva, and she forgave them for that. Just by hugging Eva, her parents understood their daughter's pain and what she had to go through. Half a millennium's worth of memories swirled around and played through at breakneck speed. Her parents were in tears, both sadness and happiness at the same time.

"You have all this, but.....you don't seem very happy. Why is that Evangeline?" Her father asked after a while remembering all of her accomplishments.

Evangeline hiccuped at what he said. It sounded _almost exactly_ like what Nagi had asked her not too long ago.

"I.......I suppose......that.....I'm always trying to improve......and that.......I feel that it's........not enough...."

Her parents both had a quizzical look on their faces. Then both of them looked at each other and burst out laughing. It was an odd moment for Eva has she never heard her parents laugh like that.

"I suppose we had yet to explain how to control your ambitions. Though that would be our fault for pushing you with your studies," her father noted.

"You've accumulated power for centuries already. That's more than anyone could hope for. Have you not wished to try something different?" her mother asked as well.

Eva thought about it really quick and thought was else was she able to do except fight. Her mind settled on a few things. She was good at flower arrangement and tea ceremony. She was also a decent GO player and a decent singer. Yes, the little girl never told anyone because of the humiliation, but she enjoyed singing when she was in the shower. But other than those few things, she read books on magic and magic theory, she trained everyday, she practiced her magic, trained some more....no....there really wasn't anything else she was good at.

"N-no......power is......all I have left in this world. I-I don't know how to do anything else...."

Then for some reason, she started to say, "If I........if I had....just a little more power.......if I could.......I would bring you two back........"

"Eh?! Hahaha! Evangeline, sometimes you can be really funny you know that?" her father laughed again.

"But I.........I wanted your love back........I felt that.........I lost it on that day.........."

"I hope you know that power cannot buy you everything. I did warn you that you shouldn't care so much about it. It can consume you if you are not careful. Heh, I suppose we also failed in that area," her father finished.

Eva had not realized it. She did remember her father saying that she needn't worry about power in her youth, saying that power will come to her in due time. She spent all her time accumulating power and training, pushing her abilities far beyond what any living creature was capable of. But if there was one ability that she wanted now more than ever......it was to bring her parents back from the dead.

"Dear, I think you need to take her seriously on this one," her mother turned to her and said, "Evangeline dear........that is......very sweet of you......it's more than we could ever hope for. But you have earned your power and that belongs to you. It does us no good. It's yours."

"Besides Evangeline, we loved you right from the very start," her father added.

"You have become very powerful, far more than any of us could imagine. I think you have more than enough power. You don't need more," Lady McDowell finished.

Eva had never considered that. She always seemed to want more. She wanted more because she absolutely enjoyed the feeling of being powerful.

"Listen Eva, if being strong is what you do best then please go on ahead, we are not stopping you," Lord McDowell said with a firm tone.

"Have you......not considered your own happiness? I know power is very important to you. But have you not thought that your happiness is just as important?" her mother asked. Her voice was very gentle and was not as harsh as Eva remembered it to be. But it was true that Eva hardly thought about her own happiness. Then again, she didn't know what made her happy.

"I suppose.......I never really thought about it before. I have done horrible things. Unforgiveable sins. I have killed far too many for everyday happiness and have far outlived my lifetime. I...don't deserve to be happy...." Eva repeated what she had told Asuna and Setsuna. She honestly believed that she did not deserve to be happy. She was an evil being whom many wanted dead. Why would someone like her deserve happiness?

"Evangeline dear.....you forgave us for not protecting you more. Now its our turn to ask, do you too wish to be forgiven?" her mother asked looking longingly at their daughter.

"I......I-uh...." Evangeline hesitated. Did she really want to be forgiven? Did she even deserve to be forgiven of her crimes? Her mind was racing. She clutched her head with both hands in frustration. Her vampire side was telling her no, but her human side was telling her yes. Once again she fell to her knees trembling.

"Look....you may not know the answer, but we forgive you as well." Her father said noting how distressed Evangeline was right now. He knew it was difficult for her to grasp such concepts.

"We only wish for you to be happy. I..I do not think I could bear to see you unhappy for the rest of your life. If that makes you feel better, that is why we forgive you. No being should be denied happiness, not even you who claim to be an evil vampire."

Nekane motioned for the others to leave. Eva said that she could find her way back to the Springfield's home no problem. Nekane guessed that she wanted some time alone with her parents. As they turned to leave, they thought they saw the glint of a single tear trickle down from the vampiress's eyes.

* * *

The train ride back to Wales was for the most part, uneventful. They passed by the same hills as before, this time illuminated by the late afternoon sun. There were several white, fluffy clouds in the sky, but there was a gray cloud seemed to hang over the seven of them.

Anya for instance, found herself feeling......sorry for Evangeline, someone she never thought she would feel anything for.

Anya was very saddened indeed. She even pitied her. She wanted to apologize to Eva for the way she treated her these past few days. Ever since she arrived to Wales, she did nothing except loath and was scared of Eva. But after seeing that emotional scene with Eva and her parents, Anya thought she might have overdone it. She was scared of a vampire for almost no apparent reason, and yet the vampire was scared that she would be disowned by her parents. She made a mental note to apologize to Negi after this as well.

For the first hour, none of them spoke. No one wanted to say anything. Konoka was still crying in Setsuna's shoulder and the swordswoman placed an arm around her.

Setsuna spoke first, "I.....I never knew that.....Evangeline was is so much pain. I mean-I knew she must have been through a lot over the years but......I never expected that she had to go through such hardship."

"I know what you mean. Secchan, but I think .....now, I understand Eva more." Konoka said in between sniffles.

"Now I think I understand why she gave me that choice."

"What choice?" Konoka asked after blowing her nose in a hankercheif that Setsuna offered her.

"When we battled, she gave me a choice: happiness, or my sword. She said that I cannot have both, whereas I saw that there was no reason not to have both."

"She chose power. She chose that over her own happiness." Asuna concluded.

Nekane then spoke up, "Who would ever choose that? I don't think I could ever make that choice."

"I don't think any one of us here would. But she did because she felt she had no other choice." Setsuna repiled. She felt she understood why Eva did not want happiness and forgiveness.

"That would explain why she never seems to smile. It also explain why she seems such a grouch in class." Asuna noted.

Negi too was quiet most of the time. Sure he had been intimidated by his master, and sure she's bullied him about a hundred times and put him through lots of pain. She put him through back breaking training regimens that had him literally begging at her feet for mercy. But none of that pain could compared to the lasting pain that she had to bear on her conscience for so long. He had never taken someone's life, and even now, still cringed at the sight of blood.

"Still, I hope that this will bring her some closure at least. I think she deserves that much," Nekane said as she wiped her eyes of tears.

"I certainly do too," was all the young teacher could say.

* * *

"Evangeline, before you go, we would like to give you something. Something that rightfully belongs to you," her father told her.

Eva was puzzled by this but went along. She never got gifts from anybody, much less now.

"If you look next to our gravestone, there is a hidden compartment," her father pointed behind him.

Eva walked over behind the tall monument and saw it. She removed the brick carefully to reveal a hidden chamber. Inside was a small, ornately decorated box which her father instructed to take out. The box was no larger than her palm and was worn out due to age. Eva took the box gingerly and replaced the brick back in its place. She then walked back around to the front of the gravestones.

"Open it. We have been saving this until you became of age or when we felt you would be ready to receive it," her mother told her.

Evangeline placed one hand over the lid and slowly opened it. Her green eyes widened at what laid inside. The box contained a single ring, sitting neatly over a red velvet cushion. Evangeline carefully took the ring out to examine it better. It was richly decorated with tiny jewels and looked to be made of solid gold and silver. In the center of the ring, was the finest craftsmanship baring the McDowell family crest.

Evangeline knew about this ring. She had seen her father wearing it many a time. Rings like this were used a sort of stamp in the old days before written signatures. One would dip or simply stamp a piece of parchment and the imprint it left marked the seal of that person. Of course, only rich and influential families had them.

"I....I don't know what to say........it's-it's beautiful."

Her father looked down at his daughter and smiled brightly. "This ring has been in our family for generations. It was passed down to me from my father and his father before him. It is a reminder and proof of our family's legacy. And now we shall pass it on to you, our heir and only daughter, Evangeline Athanasia Katherine McDowell. It is yours."

She carefully looked the ring up and down and slipped it on her left thumb as it was the only finger that could fit the ring snuggly. For a minute, she stared at the ring, though slightly worn, and thought about this moment. Then she said two words that was almost never heard coming out of her mouth, "Thank you. I...I appreciate it, but......I-I have nothing to give in return....."

At this her father laughed again and smiled, a laugh not too different than a certain red-haired mage. "It has been this long and you still have much to learn."

"You owe us nothing Evangeline, not even an apology," her mother said smiling as well.

Lord McDowell placed a hand on Eva's head and rubbed her hair, exactly the same way all those years ago. "We simply wished to give you your inheritance before you left, as it is your birthright."

"Now our souls can finally rest in peace. We are the ones who should thank you," her mother said with the warmest of smiles.

"Good bye Evangeline dear. We will always love you," her father said.

"G-good bye.....have a nice afterlife...." Evangeline said weakly and waved.

And with that final word, the ghosts of her parents faded away, and could be seen floating upward towards the heavens. As they left for good, they left smiling all the way at Evangeline.

Eva was alone. She just stood in front of the two graves for several minutes in the beautiful sunset of Scotland. She wanted to do something for her parents, but she didn't know what.

Then, something popped into her mind. She wasn't sure about the idea, but she was going to do it.

She started running back down the hill as quickly as her tiny legs could carry her. She ran for about a hundred feet before realizing that she could fly. She pulled out her cape and took to the sky in an instant. What a view she had, but she could not enjoy it as the sun was already low on the horizon. She flew past her castle and saw her destination. She quickly descended into the field of lilacs and looked around. She started gathering as many as she can, not caring of the mess she was making and the leaves and pedals over her dress. She also gathered all sorts of other flowers that she could find. Daisies, roses, lavenders, anything she could find and tied them up with a spare sheet of cloth.

She quickly took flight back to the cemetery and flew so fast that she almost overshot her destination. She found her parents gravestones in a manner of seconds. She ran over her idea once again and nodded. She first separated the good flowers she picked from the field from the bad. She then separated the lilacs from the other flowers she had picked and placed the flowers in neat bunches at the bases of her parents' graves just beneath the names. She placed the lilacs for her mother and the roses and lilies for her father.

She stepped back to prepare the final piece of her plan.

She summoned her magic again, and chanted a spell in latin.

With careful skill, she manipulated her magic and worked the magic around her parents tombstones.

After several minutes she stepped back and breathed a sigh of relief to admire her handiwork. Instead of two tombstones made of stone, there now stood before her two tombstones encased in crystal.

Now not even time could wither away at her parents. Although her parents had asked nothing from her, she still felt this was the least she could for them.

For a while, Evangeline just stood there, looking at crystal monument.

It was a beautiful sight with the impurities and smooth sides catching the sun's rays and scattering them everywhere.

Then, a flood of emotions ran through Evangeline.

Her knees gave way and she fell to her knees. Evangeline finally broke down crying. She couldn't fight her own tears let alone her sadness. On that snowy day when she ran away from the comforts of her home with nothing else but the clothes on her back, she descended further and further into the realm of darkness until finally, she _became_ the darkness itself. But even after all the evil deeds she's committed, the countless lives she took with her bare hands, and not once even reconsidering her own actions, her parents, who were now long dead, still accepted her like they would have over five centuries ago. There was no hint of anger in her parents, only love for their daughter. They had treated her a victim rather than an aggressor. And of course, they treated her like a human being instead of a vampire.

She continued to cry. She couldn't even remember when she cried this much.

Hot tears streamed down her face as she wept. There was no one around to hear her woes and cries. So she continued to cry her heart out. She cried for what seemed like hours, and as the sun dipped below the horizon, she kept crying.

And she continued to cry, because for once, she was not the scary vampire and mistress of the night.

She was a lonely girl who had lost her parents.

_Fin_

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A/N: I will say that I myself even cried when typing this chapter up. Once again iwant to thank Donkeykong75m for helping me to beta this story. It was absolutely crucial that i got this last chapter as perfect as possible. Stay tuned for an omake of Vincent and Jean and the troubles they had after this!


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